A Normal Life
by Jade Starlight
Summary: Relena and the G-boys find new lives in America, where they make new friends, and Relena encounters her TRUE past. And to top things off, a new threat is made from a new rebel faction! Can the crew face another war? And who are these new pilots?
1. Prologue

A Normal Life  
By: Jade Starlight  
  
Prologue  
  
  
After Heero Yuy destroyed the piece of Libra that was descending to Earth,   
everyone rejoiced, both on Earth and in the colonies. The people decided to eliminate all   
mobile dolls, putting an end to the war.   
The ones known as the Gundam pilots decided to begin a new life, but not before   
saying farewell to their loved ones. As for the Gundams themselves? They were being   
kept by Lady Une and Lucrezia Noin in case they might one day be needed.  
Relena Peacecraft decided that she would resume the life she once had before   
becoming Queen of the World. Although the people wanted her to continue to lead them,   
she decided that it was best that she hand the job over to her brother, Millardo   
Peacecraft, who did survive the explosion of Libra. He happily excepted the job, fully   
understanding his sister's need to be free. After all, she was only sixteen.  
The pilots and Relena, as well as Millardo, Noin, Sally, Hilde, and even Dorothy,   
met one las time before they left to begin their lives...  
  
  
  
`"Relena, they're here!" Noin yelled up the stairs. Pagan answered the door, letting   
in five teenage boys.  
"Right this way gentlemen," Pagan said, bringing them into the huge living room,   
where Hilde, Dorothy, Sally, and Millardo sat, waiting patiently. Everyone was dressed   
in their usual clothes, except for Millardo, who was in jeans and a t-shirt.  
"Hey guys!" Hilde greeted them with a smile. Only Quatre and Duo returned it.   
The boys took a seat, and all was quiet, until Noin entered the room.  
"Hello everyone," Noin said, sitting next to Millardo on the small couch.  
'Good evening Miss Noin," Quatre said.  
"No need for the Miss, Quatre. We're all friends now," Noin said, smiling.  
"So, what are we gonna do?" Duo asked.   
"Watch a movie I think. Relena's planning this, so I'm not entirely sure," Millardo   
answered.  
"By the way, where is she?" Dorothy asked.  
"Here," Relena said entering the room. "I had some last minute business to attend   
to. You know, resigning stuff." She sat next to Heero on the other small couch.  
"Um, Relena, if you don't mind me asking, why are you resigning?" Quatre asked.  
"Well, I want to go back to having a normal life," she said, glancing around the   
room.  
"But don't the people want you to lead them again?" Duo asked this time,   
continuing the conversation. Relena stood up in the front of the room.  
"Well, yes, but I don't feel that I'm the best person for the job. That's why I've   
decided to hand it over to my brother," she explained.  
"But don't you want to do it?" Quatre asked again. Relena sighed.  
"Actually, no. I'm only sixteen. I may be wiser than I appear, but that doesn't   
mean I want the responsibilities that come with it. I think I'm still too young to decide   
whether or not I'm a pacifist, or whether or not I believe war is necessary. All of that is   
something that I shouldn't have to worry about. None of us should half to," she finished,   
glancing around the room. All of the teens shook their heads in agreement.  
"Which is why I'm leaving," she said. Millardo nearly jumped out of his seat, if   
Noin hadn't of held him there. The others looked at her in shock.  
"WHAT?!" Millardo yelled. Relena sat next to him, and looked at him lovingly.  
"I know that you don't approve, Millardo, but in order for me to be a normal kid, I   
need to start over. I need to live somewhere that people don't know me as Relena   
Peacecraft, Queen of the World, but Relena Dorlain, your average, ordinary teenager."   
She looked at the Gundam Pilots across the room.  
"And I'd like you to come with," she said to them.  
"Relena, we'd love to, but," Quatre started. Relena shook her head.  
"I know you think you have to continue to be involved in fighting, whether it be a   
special force, or something else, but you don't. If you come with me, you can start over.   
You can live the life you never had," she pleaded.  
"What about my family?" Quatre asked.  
"Hey, I never said change you identity, I said find it. Just because you'll be   
moving doesn't mean you can't visit your family, and they can visit you, ya know? And   
did you ever hear of e-mail or a telephone?" she said. Quatre sat there and considered   
this.   
"But Relena, how can we just up and leave?" Trowa asked.  
"Well, you don't have to right away. I'm resigning tomorrow, but I'm not leaving   
for a few months. I can't just leave my loved ones." She looked down, and then back up   
again. "Look, you don't have to answer me right now. Give it a few days, and then   
contact me and give me your answer," she said.  
"Okay, I'll think about it," Duo said.  
"Me too," Quatre said.  
"Great! Trowa?"  
"I will too, although Cathy isn't going to like this," he said.  
"And Wufei?"  
"Well, I suppose. But don't get your hopes up, woman!" he said.  
"Yeah yeah." She turned to Heero. "Heero?"  
"I will think about it, but don't expect anything," he said flatly. Relena simply   
nodded, and turned her attention to Noin.  
"You'll be able to help right?" she asked.  
"I've already found the perfect place," Noin said.  
"YOU KNEW ABOUT THIS?!" Millardo screamed. Noin looked at him   
innocently and kissed his cheek, whispering, "Later dear," as she pulled away. He glared   
at her and huffed.  
"So, ah, who wants to watch a movie?" Relena asked, changing the subject.  
"What one?" Dorothy asked.  
"I don't know," Relena shrugged.  
"I do," Hilde smiled evilly. "How about The Mummy with Relena's big crush,   
BRENDAN FRAISER!!!" she yelled. Relena blushed and threw a pillow at Hilde.  
"Shut up!" she screamed. Dorothy was cracking up by this time.  
"You shouldn't be laughing, Dorothy! We all know how much you love Keanu   
Reeves!" Hilde said. Dorothy turned red and hit Hilde on the back of the head.  
"Shut up, miss I-love-Mel Gibson!"   
"Hey not fare, miss I-love-Val Kilmer!"  
"GUYS!" Relena yelled, breaking up the soon-to-be fight. Hilde and Dorothy   
looked at each other and back at Relena.  
"RELENA LOVES DAVID BOREANAZ!!!" they yelled together. Relena   
grabbed a pillow and hit both of them on the head.  
"Knock it off you two!" she yelled. Before things got worse, Duo grabbed Hilde,   
while Quatre and Heero restrained the other two girls.  
"Let me at 'em!" Hilde yelled.  
"Settle down and I'll let you go!" Duo said. Hilde quite swinging her arms and   
huffed, sitting calmly down. Relena and Dorothy reluctantly did the same.  
"Now, what do we wanna watch?" Duo asked, satisfied that the fight was done.   
  



	2. The Verdict

A Normal Life  
By: Jade Starlight  
  
Chapter One: The Verdict  
  
  
  
A couple of days after Relena resigned, she decided to take full advantage of   
being off duty and free of any responsibility, so she slept in for the first time in a year.  
"Relena, get up sleepy head!" a voice yelled from the other side of her bedroom   
door. Relena's eyes fluttered open, and she slowly sat up, glancing at her clock, which   
read 10:30 in big red letters.  
"Who is it?" she asked groggily. She rubbed her eyes, attempting to wake up.  
"It's Lucrezia, dear. Can I come in?"  
"Sure," Relena flopped her head back down onto the pillow. Noin entered and   
immediately opened the curtains to her balcony doors, revealing the sun. Relena quickly   
pulled the covers over her head, groaning.  
"Lena, are you okay? You're not sick, are you?" Noin asked, sitting next to   
Relena on the bed.   
"No, I'm just tired," Relena answered, peaking out from the covers. She sighed   
heavily.  
"What is it?" Noin asked, a concerned look crossing over her. Relena sat up and   
turned to her friend, smiling wearily.  
"Well, for one thing, I was having a good dream, and for another, I wish I could   
sleep forever. I never realized how much I needed it."  
"Well, as much as I'd like to just let you sleep your life away, I think you'd better   
get out now. After all, since you don't have anything to do, you could shop, or lounge   
around the gardens," Noin suggested, getting up to leave.  
"Yeah yeah, I know. I'll be down as soon as I'm done getting dressed," Relena   
said, pulling the covers off of her. Noin smiled and closed the door behind her, leaving   
Relena alone. She walked over to her vanity, and grabbed a brush, but she set it down   
and picked up the teddy bear that was sitting next to it.  
"Sometimes I think you're the only one who understands me," she said aloud,   
staring at the bear. She walked out onto the balcony and gazed at the gardens and the   
mountains in her kingdom. She leaned against the balcony and cuddled the little bear.  
"You know so many secrets about me that you could probably ruin me, if you   
could talk of course," she said again. She sighed heavily. "Listen to me! I'm so alone   
that I talk to a bear for comfort!" She started laughing at herself and then stopped, gazing   
down at it lovingly this time. She stroked the ribbon that was tied around it, and shook   
her head.  
"But you aren't just any bear, you're my prince in disguise," she whispered. "Or at   
least, you're from my prince. Only I'm not so sure he feels the same way, " she said,   
sighing heavily again. She walked back inside, oblivious of the eyes that were watching   
her.  
  
Heero kept his gaze on Relena as she continued her talk with the bear. He was   
behind the opened door to the balcony. He saw the sadness in her eyes when she   
mentioned "her prince."  
Why do you still love me? Why Relena? I've never done anything for you, and yet   
you continue to care! He stopped his train of thought and left Relena's balcony. He knew   
what he had to do.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
After breakfast Relena disappeared into the gardens, wander around with no   
particular destination.  
I wonder who will go with me? she thought. I hope they all do, even Wufei,   
although he may need to be hit a few times for his comments! She started laughing to   
herself about that thought. She was picturing chasing Wufei down because he said   
women are weak again.  
"That would be interesting," Relena mused, sitting down under a willow tree that   
was near the end of the garden. She rested her head back against the trunk, closing her   
eyes. She drifted off into a light slumber.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
The vid phone was ringing to no end, and Noin was busy cleaning the kitchen so   
she couldn't answer it.  
"Zechs! Get that please!" she yelled. The ringing stopped immediately, and Noin   
sighed in relief.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
"Hey Duo, what brings you to call here this morning?" Millardo asked the all-to-  
cheerful pilot.  
"Well, actually, I was calling Lena. Is she available?"   
"No, I'm afraid not, Duo. She's made herself scarce at the moment. What did you   
need to tell her?"  
"Well, I'm taking her up on that offer," he said, a huge grin spreading across his   
face.  
"That's a relief!" Millardo said, smiling at the pilot.  
"Can ya give her the message, and tell her to call me back?"  
"No problem Duo. It was nice talking to you."   
"Same here! Bye!" The screen went blank. Noin entered the room, to find a   
pleased Millardo.  
"Zechs, why are you so happy all of a sudden?"  
"Duo's going with Relena when she leaves."  
"Really? Well, she'll be happy to have a friend accompany her!" The two walked   
into the other room to relax a little.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Relena's eyes flew open when she heard footsteps approaching her. She turned   
around, to find that no one was there.  
"Okay, very creepy," she whispered to herself, getting up and inspecting the area   
around her. She shrugged when she found nothing, and decided to climb the tree. She   
grabbed branch after branch, slowly making her way to about the middle. Just as she sat   
down, she heard someone calling her.  
"Relena?" the voice said.  
"Up here!' she yelled, looking below her. She waited for the person to appear, and   
when they did she nearly fell out of the tree.  
"Why are you up there?" Heero asked, glancing up. She sat there, stunned for a   
minute, before answering.  
"Uh, I-I was just bored I guess," she answered.  
"Mind if I join you?"  
"No, not at all," she said, a huge smile crossing her face. Heero just started   
climbing up the tree, until he was next to Relena.  
"So, how are you?" Heero asked.   
"I'm good, and you?"   
"Fine," he answered flatly.  
"So, did my brother let you in?"  
"Not exactly."  
"Oh," Relena said, understanding what he meant. "Hey, did you think about my   
offer?" she asked, getting to the point. Heero just sat there, looking straight ahead.  
"Heero? Are you okay?" she asked, concerned for him. He directed his gaze to   
her face, and he saw the love in her eyes as they sat there.  
"Yeah, I'm fine," he answered, still staring at her. She blushed and looked away,   
not catching the small smile playing on his lips.  
"So, um, did you?" she pressed.  
"Yes, and I will go...with you...and the others," he said. Relena looked at him and   
a huge smile spread across her lips, as she flung her arms around him, hugging him. He   
just sat there, unsure of what to do, and then he hugged her back slightly.  
"I'm so glad that you are! We'll have so much fun!" she said, pulling away. She   
was about to go on, and then she lost her balance, and started to fall forward, but Heero   
quickly caught her, and she grabbed onto his neck for dear life. She looked up into his   
eyes, and she melted. He looked back, and she could've sworn she saw affection in them,   
before he looked away.  
"Are you okay?" he asked.  
"Hm? Oh, yeah. Sorry about that. Sometimes I think I truly am a blonde," she   
said, laughing a little. Heero smiled, and when she saw this, she nearly fell over, again.   
He was very amused by her reaction.  
"So, why don't we get down now?" he said, slowly climbing down. Relena   
nodded, still shocked, and came right after him. They made their way back to the house,   
silent, but comfortable.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
When Relena entered the house, she was greeted by her brother.  
"Well hello, Relena. Did you relax?" he asked.  
"Well, actually, yes, thank you. And you?" She stopped when she followed her   
brother's gaze behind her.  
"Hello, Heero," he grunted. Relena smiled a little when Heero just glared back.  
"Um, Heero's going to visit for a while today, so we'll be leaving now," she said,   
dragging Heero behind her.  
"Relena, Duo called. He's going with you," Millardo informed her.  
"He is?! Yes!" she smiled brightly and turned to Heero. "This is great! Now we   
won't be alone!"  
"We?" Millardo asked, raising an eyebrow.  
"Yeah. Heero's going to," Relena informed him. Before her brother could protest,   
the vid phone started ringing. Relena ran to answer it.  
"Relena here," she said. Quatre's face appeared, and he smiled brightly at the   
princess.  
"Hello, Miss Relena. I have wonderful news!"  
"Really? What is it?"  
"Iria and my sisters are going to run my father's business, which means I'm free to   
go with you!" he beamed at her. She in turn smiled brightly. "Oh, hi Heero," Quatre said.  
"Hello, Quatre," he answered, standing next to Relena.  
"Heero, Quatre's going with us!" Relena said excitedly.  
"Us?" Quatre raised a questioning eyebrow.  
"Yeah. Duo and I are going too," Heero answered flatly.  
"Oh yeah, Trowa said he was coming too," Quatre informed them.  
"What about Wufei?" Relena asked. Before Quatre could answer, Relena had   
another call. "Quatre, I'll call you back," she said, flipping over. Wufei's picture replaced   
his.  
"Listen here, woman. I will be accompanying you when you go, but don't get all   
happy or anything, cause I may leave," he said grouchily. Relena stifled a giggle.  
"Great! That means everyone's going!" she said happily. Wufei suddenly noticed   
Heero was there.  
"Heero, why are you there?" he asked.  
"I came to inform Relena that I was going too," he said. Wufei nodded.   
"Bye Heero, bye woman," Wufei said, as his image faded. Relena smiled evilly,   
which frightened Heero a little, although he didn't show it.  
"I can't wait till I see him! I'll teach him not to call me woman!" she said, and   
then she started laughing.  
"Relena, are you okay?" Millardo asked joining the two teens. Relena smiled and   
said, "Of course," before dragging Heero up the stairs and to her room. Before Millardo   
could protest, Noin stopped him.  
"Leave them be. I haven't seen Relena this happy in a long time," she told him.   
Millardo reluctantly agreed, and followed Noin outside for a walk.   



	3. Parting Is Such Sweet Sorrow

A Normal Life  
By: Jade Starlight  
  
Chapter Two: Parting Is Such Sweet Sorrow  
  
Relena awoke to the sound of her alarm. It was 7:30 in the morning, and her   
plane would be leaving at 10:00. She reached over and slapped the off button, before   
flinging herself out of bed and over to the closet.  
Today I go in something comfy but casual. She pulled out a purple spaghetti strap   
tank top and her brown leather jacket. Then she grabbed some brown flare corduroys   
from her dresser.  
"Lena, you up?" a cheery male voice called from the hall.  
"Yeah Duo, I'm up," she said smiling. Because all of the pilots were going with   
her, she insisted that they stay at her house and they all go to the airport together.  
"Can I come in?" he asked, a playful tone in his voice.   
"Duo, I'm in my pajamas," Relena said.  
"So, that doesn't bother...OW! Chill out Heero, I was just joking!" Relena started   
cracking up really loud when she heard this.  
"Hey, you think that's funny, Relena?!" Duo grunted angrily. Naturally Relena   
replied with a "Yes!" in between her giggles. Before she knew it, Duo had come in, and   
he had a pillow in his hand.  
"Duo, Duo I didn't mean it! DUO!!!" Relena squealed as she ran around her   
room, Duo on her tail. He tackled her and started beating her with the pillow, while she   
screamed. Then she saw Quatre, Trowa, Wufei, and an angry looking Heero staring at   
them. Duo immediately stopped and backed away, as Relena climbed to her feet.  
"What in the world are you two doing?!" Quatre asked.  
"Have you no pride, Maxwell!" Wufei said in a disgusted tone.  
"Guys, it's not a big deal, really. We were just messin' around!" Duo said in   
defense. Relena wouldn't have stood up for him, only he was a good friend, so she shook   
her head in agreement.  
"I asked for it. I was laughing at him when Heero hit him, and he got angry I   
guess," she shrugged.  
"Duo Maxwell, I will kill you if you come in here again," Heero grunted as he   
walked passed him to Relena. Everyone was completely shocked because it wasn't like   
him to show emotion.  
"Fine," was all Duo said before he and the others went back to their rooms to get   
changed. Heero, however, stayed behind.  
"Heero, don't be mad at him. You know how big of a jokester he is," Relena said.   
Heero looked at her, and she saw something in his eyes that resembled...jealousy?   
Whatever it was disappeared quickly.  
"Fine, I won't, but only because he was joking," Heero said, before leaving the   
room.  
Well, he may actually be coming around, Relena thought cheerfully as she got   
dressed. She went downstairs to eat breakfast.  
  
About two hours later, everyone was at the airport, including Millardo and Noin.  
"Relena, you know that the instant you're in trouble, you can contact us, and don't   
hesitate to come home," Millardo said.  
"I know, brother. You've only told me about a thousand times," she said, hugging   
him tightly. A tear slid down her cheek as she approached Noin.  
"I'll miss you," she said, before embracing her. Noin stroked her head gently, and   
nodded, also becoming teary-eyed.  
"I know hunny. Don't be a stranger, and please, call us whenever you can," she   
said.  
"I will."  
"Now boys, I'm glad you're accompanying Relena. Have fun, and watch her   
twenty-four-seven. Got it?" Millardo said. All of them shook their heads. Millardo   
turned to Heero.  
"No funny stuff, Yuy. I respect you, but my little sister is more important, and I'm   
just looking out for her well-being. Please, don't try to get her pregnant."  
"Millardo! That's enough!" Relena huffed, turning five shades of red. She   
slapped him on the head, and everyone started laughing as she continued beating him on   
the head. She stopped when their flight number was called for boarding.  
"Relena, you better get going now," Noin whispered.  
"I know. I'll miss you guys," she hugged them one last time before grabbing her   
purse and going to the gate with the boys, who were already half way down the terminal.   
Heero stayed behind, waiting for her. Just before she disappeared, she waved good-bye.  
"Have fun!" Noin yelled as she watched her soon-to-be sister disappear.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
"Relena followed Heero to a seat and took her place at the window, next to him.   
Behind them Trowa and Wufei were seated, and in front of them was Quatre and Duo.  
"So, how long's the flight again?" Duo asked.  
"I think like twenty hours," Relena informed them. Duo groaned and turned   
around.  
"Ladies and Gentlemen, please fasten your seatbelts. We will be taking off in two   
minutes," the flight attendant said. Everyone did so, and two minutes later they were   
leaving the runway, and flying in the air. A tear slid down Relena's cheek as she looked   
out the window, viewing her country one last time.  
"See you in a few years," she whispered sadly. Heero heard this, and he wiped   
away a tear, startling her.   
"Relena, don't be sad. We'll have fun at our new home," he assured her, as he   
smiled, which he only did for her now. She smiled back, shaking her head before looking   
out the window again.  
I hope you cheer up Relena, Heero thought, as he leaned back his head to catch up   
on some sleep.  



	4. Settling In

A Normal Life  
By: Jade Starlight  
  
Chapter Three: Settling In  
  
  
Duo looked excitedly out of the taxi van's window, admiring the tall buildings in   
L.A.  
"Hey, Lena, remind me to thank Noin for picking such an awesome place to live!"   
he said, still staring out the window.  
"Okay, I will," she said, turning to look out of the same window. There were   
mountains in the distance, and she saw palm trees all over the place. This is going to be   
awesome! she thought, a smile spreading across her face. Heero saw this, and allowed   
himself a small grin. He was happy that she was cheerier than when they left.  
"So, Relena, you never told us about our home," Quatre said, also admiring the   
landscape.  
"Well, Noin said it was a small house that was up for rent," she answered.  
"Wait, we're all living together?!" Wufei said, eyes bulging out of his head.  
"Yeah, I hope that's okay."  
"I have to put up with Maxwell for a few years more!" he shouted angrily. Relena   
smiled nervously at him and laughed.  
"Yeah, Wu-man, I thought you knew?" Duo said.  
"No one cared to inform me of this!" he huffed. Relena laughed a little, which   
only made Wufei angrier.  
"Chill Wufei, you'll live," Trowa said, patting him on the back.  
"Woman, you are dead when we get there!"  
"Try me, Wufei. I dare you," Relena shot back. Wufei blinked and calmed down.  
"I don't fight women, and especially weak ones," he retorted, crossing his arms. It   
was Relena's turn to get angry.  
"Give me a few weeks, and we'll see if you don't change your mind!" she shot   
back. Duo and Heero, who were on both sides of her in the front, scooted away a little,   
and tried to ignore the fight.  
"Is that a challenge?!" Wufei yelled again.   
"Yes," Relena said coolly before turning around again.  
"Well then I-Hey! Look at me when I'm talking to you!"   
"No. We're finished," Relena said, still facing the front. Wufei would've jumped   
over the seat, if Trowa and Quatre hadn't of grabbed him, and Heero hadn't of given him a   
death glare. Duo, in the meantime, was totally shocked at Relena's behavior.  
"Man, Lena, you sure do have an attitude!" he said happily. Relena smiled.  
"I know. Isn't this me better?"  
"Way better. Not that you weren't cool before, but now..."  
"I get it, Duo. No need to explain," she said laughing. Duo laughed as well, while   
Wufei just glared. Everyone else was calm the rest of the way to their home.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
The five pilots followed Relena up the stairs that led to the door of their new   
home, everyone carrying their own bags. Relena slowly opened the door, and walked in,   
searching for a light switch. When the lights were on, she gasped at how beautiful the   
house looked.  
The house had two floors, and as soon as you walked in, there was a living room   
to your left, and a stairway to your right that went up about five steps, and then turned   
about five more, and then turned again. Directly in front was a short hall that led into a   
dining room. Relena set her bags down, and hurried into the dining room.  
"Isn't this great, guys?!" she exclaimed, checking out the rest of the house. She   
went through the dining room, and into a kitchen, and then through that to the stairs and   
the front door again. The walls in every room were cream colored, with gold trim around   
the edges.   
"Whoa, what a house!" Duo said, taking in its beauty.   
"Let's go upstairs," Quatre said, making his way up. At the top of the stairs was   
another living room, above the one downstairs. Then there was a hall, with three doors   
on one side, and three on the other. Relena raced passed Quatre, Duo closely behind, and   
they opened the first door they saw.  
"Man, they remind me of children," Trowa said, a smile on his face. He and the   
other three followed them into the room, and their jaws nearly dropped.  
"This is huge!" Duo said. He and Relena were inspecting it closely.  
"Hey, there's a bathroom with a shower too!" Relena yelled from inside it. She   
poked her head out and smiled.  
"Let's see the others!" Duo said, racing out before anyone could stop him. A   
couple minutes later he yelled again.  
"Every room has a bathroom with a shower! And they're all about the same size!"  
"Okay, so, let's pick a room," Quatre said, moving out. Relena sat down on the   
bed in the one they were in.  
"I like this one. Do you mind if I take it?" she asked.  
"Nope. It's all yours," Quatre said, smiling.  
"I'll take the one across form hers," Heero said, opening the door to dump his stuff   
in there. The others nodded. Duo took the one next to Relena's, and Trowa took last one   
the right side. Wufei took the one across form Trowa's, and Quatre took the last one.   
After everyone got situated, they decided to go out for dinner. Duo suggested   
McDonald's, and, although no one ever had it before, they agreed, and left around about   
6:00 so they could come back in time for bed, because they had school in the morning.   



	5. The First Day

A NORMAL LIFE  
BY: Jade Starlight  
  
Chapter Four: The First Day  
  
  
Beep, beep, beep! Heero's alarm sounded at 6:30 A.M this Monday morning. He   
tried to keep his nice dream, but he lost it to that sound ringing in his ears, at least to him.   
He rolled over, and with one swift motion, snatched the clock off of his dresser, flinging   
it to the other side of the room. He smiled as he heard a crash, and no more beeping.   
Then he heard frantic footsteps as someone opened the door. He opened his eyes to find   
Quatre staring at him, concern in his eyes.  
"Heero, what happened? Are you-" he stopped when he saw the remnants of the   
alarm clock beside the doorway. Shaking his head, he retreated back to his room, as   
Heero climbed out of bed. As he entered the hall, he heard two showers going, and   
Wufei rambling about the injustice in getting up so early. Then he heard Duo's loud   
snores.  
Some things will never change, he thought, approaching the stairway. As he went   
to go downstairs, he heard a scream, followed by his name. He bolted to Relena's room,   
and he found her gnashing violently at the air in her sleep. Her face held a fearful   
expression, and then one of rage.  
"Heero! No! I'll murder you for this! NO!" she screamed louder than before, and   
sweat started falling down her face. Heero was immediately at her side, attempting to   
calm her. He shook her gently, and her eyes flashed open. When she noticed Heero, she   
hugged him tightly, as if she feared he was an illusion.  
"Relena, are you okay?" Duo asked, entering the room. She shook her head   
slowly, looking at her hands.  
"I-I was dreaming, that's all. It was only a dream," she said, more to herself than   
Duo. Heero motioned for Duo to leave, and he did, shutting the door behind him. Heero   
over heard Duo telling the others Relena was fine, and nothing was wrong. Then he   
heard them descending the steps, moving quickly downstairs no doubt.  
"Relena, are you okay now?" Heero asked, forcing her to look up. Again she   
shook her head, and then tears started slowly creeping out of her eyes.   
"Oh Heero, it was aweful!" she said, attempting to stop her crying. He wiped a   
tear away.  
"Tell me about the dream," he said. She looked at his eyes, and she saw concern   
in them, and also trust, so she decided to continue.  
"Well, in the dream, you & I, as well as the other pilots, were fighting in our   
Gundams. I had one now. You were in trouble, so I went to assist you, and somehow we   
were beaten, and captured by the enemy, which I could not see. They took us to a   
dungeon, and we were...tortured is the only thing I can think of. Anyway, after that, they   
killed you in front of me, and I could've stopped them, but I didn't!" Fresh tears started   
silently flowing, more of guilt than fear this time. Heero soothed her until she stopped   
crying.  
"Look, here I am, alive and well. You have nothing to worry about," he said,   
smiling genuinely at her. She nodded and smiled, but frowned when she saw the time.  
"Oh my God! It's 6:43! I still have to get ready, and so do you!" she said,   
jumping up. She ushered Heero out of her room.  
"Are you okay now, Relena?" he asked.  
"Yes, thank you for listening. Now, hurry and get ready or we'll be late!" she said,   
pushing her dream out of her memory for the moment.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Relena and the five pilots approached their new school, looking in awe at it. It   
was four stories high, a block long, and had an old, antique look to it on the outside.  
"Man, it's HUGE!" Duo said, gawking in awe at the large building.   
"Yeah, well, I'm just glad I don't have to wear any uniform," Relena said, also   
gawking at it. They were attending a public school, so uniforms weren't the dress code.   
Relena was wearing, instead, a pink, mid-thigh length skirt, a white tank top, and white,   
chunky soled sneakers with no socks. Her hair was pulled into a high ponytail, secured   
by a pink bow.  
"I definitely agree with that!" Quatre said, looking at his own clothing. He wore a   
light blue, collared button up shirt, a white one peaking from underneath, regular wide   
legged khaki's, and white tennis shoes.  
"So do I," Trowa said. he had on a dark blue v-neck t-shirt with wide legged   
jeans, and tennis shoes.   
"Hear hear!" Duo said, admiring his new clothes. He wore a black button up t-  
shirt, black wide legged jeans, and black tennis shoes.  
"For once, I agree with you," Wufei said. He wore a red t-shirt with black and   
gold chinese designs all over, blue jeans, and tennis shoes.  
"Yep," was all Heero said, pulling on his green button up t-shirt. He wore blue   
jeans and tennis shoes also.  
"Well, we should get moving," Relena said, leading the way to the steps of the   
school.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Jade was chatting with her best friend, when she spotted a group heading towards   
the school.  
"Come on, Shiri. Let's greet these newcomers," she said, grabbing her friend's   
hand, dragging her into the path of the group.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Relena stopped in her tracks when two girls stopped in front of her. One had long   
blonde hair, reaching her waist, while the other had brown hair the length of Relena's   
hair, coming about mid length on her back.  
"Hi, I'm Jade Nicolette. Are you new?" the brown haired one asked, extending a   
hand. Relena shook it.  
"Yes, I'm Relena Dorlian. Are we that obvious?" she asked.  
"Well," the blonde head said," we haven't had newbies in a while, so when we   
didn't recognize you, we summed it up. I'm Shiri Harris," she extended her hand, and   
Relena shook it as well. The boys were just standing around, not at all interested in this   
new acquaintance.  
"This is Heero Yuy, Duo Maxwell, Quatre Winner, Wufei Chang, and Trowa   
Barton," Relena said, introducing her friends. At the mention of their name, they either   
nodded, or replied with a "Hi," before returning to their train of thought.  
"Well, talk about anti-social," Jade said, laughing. Relena smiled nervously.  
"Sorry about that. I think they're just nervous about moving here," she lied. She   
got glares from all but Quatre, but she ignored them, and continued.  
"So, you heading to the Administrator's Office?" Shiri asked.  
"Yeah, actually. Where is that?"  
"We'll show ya," Jade offered. She lead them inside and up one flight of stairs,   
turned right, and stopped halfway down the hall.  
"Here you are. We have to go, but we hope to see you in class!" Shiri said, as she   
and Jade disappeared around a corner. Relena waved, and then turned to the boys.  
"Well, I must say that I am truly ashamed to be your friend. They were nothing   
but nice, and all you is do stare off in space, and hardly noticed their kindness, pushing it   
aside as if it's nothing!" Relena huffed.  
"Like I care what you think! They were just girls!" Wufei said. Relena glared at   
him, and then entered the office, the others following behind her.  
"May I help you?" the secretary asked.  
"We're the transfer students from Europe," Relena said.  
"Name please."   
"Relena Dorlian." The secretary pulled up her files, then excused herself,   
retreating to a room in the back. She appeared a couple of seconds later with papers and   
I'D.'s in her hands.  
"Here you are. This is your schedule and locker information, and this is your I'D.   
You need it to get into the lunchroom to eat. It also contains your library card number,   
student number, and identification picture," she said, handing two sheets and a card to   
Relena.  
"Thank you," Relena said, sitting down. The secretary gave the rest theirs, and in   
ten minutes they were on their way to retrieve their books.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Shiri and Jade met three other girls around the corner.  
"What did you find out?" a black haired girl asked.  
"I've now confirmed it's definitely them," Jade said. She was about to go on, but a   
beep from her wrist communicator interrupted her.  
"Jade?" a young man's picture appeared.  
"Yes, Dr. Hino?"   
"Is it them?"  
"Yes. Mission One...Complete," Jade reported.  
"Excellent. Everyone's next mission is to bring the pilots to me and the others.   
Relena first, though. Once you have her, the others won't refuse."  
"Mission...Accepted," Jade said.   
"Report back in a week," the voice said, as the picture disappeared.   
"Well, you heard the man," Shiri said, as they made their way to their lockers   
before class started.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Relena, Heero, and Quatre were wandering hopelessly around the first floor,   
trying to find room 121, their first period class. They had about five minutes left until the   
late bell.  
"I think it's this way," Relena said, pointing to the right. Heero shook his head.  
"No, it's this way."  
"But the numbers go up there, and we need a lower number."  
"Yeah, but I think it's in that hallway at the end of this one," Heero argued back,   
but Relena shook her head this time. Before she could continue, Quatre interrupted.  
"Look, I think Relena's way is right, but I'm not completely sure," he added, when   
Heero glared at him. Before things got worse, they heard laughter, followed by a familiar   
voice.  
"Well, well, well, what do we have here? I see that you need some assistance,"   
Shiri said. She and another girl were standing in the stairwell behind them.  
"Yeah, actually we do. Where's room 121?" Relena asked Shiri as she approached   
them.  
"Oh, you guys have English first too huh? Well, it's this way," the blue haired one   
said, as she and Shiri led the way down the hall to the right, stopping at a classroom near   
the end. All five of them barely made it before the bell rang. Relena took a seat next to   
Shiri in the row near the back. Next to Shiri was the other girls, and next to Relena was   
Heero, and then Quatre. The teacher flipped on the television.  
"What are we watching?" Relena asked, curious as to why they would watch t.v.   
during class.  
"It's the school news," the other answered. "By the way, I'm Amara. No need to   
introduce yourselves, I already know who you are," she added.  
"Okay," Quatre said.  
"Excuse me, Miss Knight, but you know the rules for talking. There is none   
during class time," the teacher, Mrs. Jenkins, said. Amara and Shiri smiled and nodded.  
"Don't mind the teacher. She's cool when you get to know her," Shiri whispered   
when the young teacher turned around.  
"Thanks for the information," Relena whispered back. Then all of the talking   
stopped, as Mrs. Jenkins continued eying them frequently.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Wufei, Trowa, Duo, Jade, Isis, and Alondra were all seated at the back of the   
classroom in World History, which was on the second floor. Duo and Jade were engaged   
in a conversation.  
"So, thanks again for helping us find our way. It's pretty cool that we have a class   
together," Duo said, smirking at Jade. She smiled back.  
"No problem. Anytime," she replied. Then she turned around to Isis, who was   
seated behind her. "Hey, why don't you talk?"  
"Because, I have nothing to say at the moment," Isis replied, as she continued   
reviewing her notes. Duo cringed slightly at her expression.  
"Ya know, she reminds me of Heero," he said to Wufei, who was seated in front   
of him. When Wufei only grunted, he turned to Trowa, who was behind him. "Do you   
agree?"  
"Yes," was all Trowa said. The period ended five minutes later, and Duo was on   
his way to Biology, which, coincidently, Alondra had also. Jade had gym next, with   
Trowa, and Isis had Algebra Two with Wufei.  
"So, is Biology hard?" Duo asked Alondra, as she led him up two flights of stairs,   
to the fourth floor.  
"Not really. I actually find it interesting." The entered the classroom door at the   
top of the stairs, and they met Quatre there.  
"Hey buddy! Nice to see a fimiliar face!" Duo said, taking his place next to   
Quatre. They were sitting at a table in the very back because they were the only seats left.   
Alondra sat beside them, at another table.  
"Alright class, today we start our fifth chapter. Please open your books to page   
278," Mr. Noel, the teacher, instructed. The class did so. And they began to take notes   
from the projector...  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Jade showed Heero and Trowa where the boys' locker room was on the first floor,   
before she departed to the girls' locker room. Five minutes later, she was in roll line   
against the wall on the right side of the gym. Heero, Trowa, and Amara were in the same   
class.  
"Hey all!" Amara said, greeting the new boy. "I'm Amara, and you're Trowa,   
right?"  
"Yeah, I am," he said. The teacher took role, and explained what was going on   
today.  
"As most of you remember, it is now soccer season, so today we will begin with   
basic skills," Mr. Johnson said.   
"Soccer? Cool," Heero said. Trowa nodded, and Jade groaned.  
"Yes! I love soccer!" Amara said, smiling widely.  
"Well of course you do! You play!" Jade said, still groaning.  
"Why don't you like it?" Trowa asked.  
"I'll stick to cheerleading, thanks" she said.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Isis, Wufei, Relena, and Shiri took notes on their lesson for Algebra. When the   
teacher was done giving out their assignment, a few decided to chat.  
"So, Wufei, are good at martial arts?" Isis asked.  
"Yes, if it's any of your business," he said, contemplating a math problem. Isis   
sneared at him, and turned around, facing Shiri, who was in front of her. The desks were   
set up like tables, four put together.  
"Don't take it offensively, Isis. He's like that towards every woman," Relena   
explained. Isis nodded, and continued her work, but not before saying, "Well, he is   
weak," which enraged Wufei. Shiri and Relena laughed at his expression before   
continuing their conversation.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Third period, Relena, Alondra, Duo, and Quatre had gym together, while Trowa,   
Wufei, and Jade went to English. Then Heero, Isis, Amara, and Shiri went to Biology.  
Fourth period everyone had Spanish together, and fifth period everyone had lunch   
and study hall.  
"So, everyone introduce themselves again, just so I get this straight," Duo said, as   
everyone chowed down their food.   
"Okay, I'm Jade," the girl with mid back length brown hair and tan skin said.  
"I'm Isis," the one with black waste length hair and tan skin said.  
"I'm Shiri," the one with blonde waste length hair said.  
"My name's Alondra," the girl with short, chin length brown hair said.  
"And I'm Amara," the girl with shoulder length blue hair said.  
"Thank you. There are so many, that i tend to get mixed up," Duo said, laughing.   
The girls and Relena and Quatre laughed as well.  
"Maxwell, your mixed up with anything and everything," Wufei told him.  
"Oh, shut up, Wufei!" Duo said, smacking him on the head. Wufei turned red, but   
didn't follow, because they were still in school.  
"Hey Lena, how's your day goin'?" Duo asked.   
"Lena?" Shiri said, a questioning look on her face.  
"Yeah, it's short for Relena. I guess you could say it's a nick name."  
"Oh okay," Jade shrugged, and then she smiled. "Say, Relena, how would you   
like it if we had a girls night Friday?"  
"A girls night? Like a slumber party?"  
"Yeah. We'd have so much fun!" Shiri chimed in. The other girls nodded their   
heads, as the guys just sweat dropped.  
"Oh brother," Duo mumbled.  
"Hey, why don't you all stay at our place? I mean, we've got two living rooms, so   
the boys can't bother us really, and it is new!" Relena exclaimed, as she smiled.   
"WHAT?! Listen here, woman, I will not be bothered by you and your gossup!"   
Wufei said.  
"Who said we'd bother you anyway? You think we'd actually go out of our way to   
do that?" Isis said, glaring at him. Before things could get worse, Relena cut in.  
"We'll figure it out later then? How about after school?" she suggested. Everyone   
nodded, and the rest of lunch and study hall was uneventful.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Sixth period, Duo, Heero, Jade, Alondra, Quatre, and Amara went to Algebra,   
while Relena, Trowa, and Wufei went to Biology. Then Isis and Shiri went to gym.  
Seventh period, Wufei went to gym alone, while Jade went to Biology alone.   
Then Quatre, Trowa, and Amara went to Algebra together. Isis and Duo went to English   
together, Heero and Relena went to World History, and Alondra went to her Art class.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
"Relena, over here!" Heero yelled, waving his arms so she'd see. She was talking   
with Amara on her way over.  
"Heero, guess what?!" she said excitedly.  
"I don't know, what?" he asked, to amuse her.  
"I'm gonna play soccer!" she squeeled in delight. Heero's eyes nearly popped out   
of his head.  
"WHAT?!" he screamed. She laughed hysterically with Amara, who was still   
with her.  
"Yep, you heard her. She's gonna play with me! She liked it in gym so much, that   
decided she wanted to be on the team!"  
"Are you sure Relena? I mean, you have to collide with people, and it's pretty   
rough," Duo said, as he overheard the conversation.  
"Well that's why I'm doing it! I think it's gonna be tons of fun getting to push   
other people, and knock 'em down! Besides, it's a good change for me," she said kind of   
angrily. Heero and Duo winced and then Duo immediately recovered his insults.  
"Lena I'm sorry! I didn't mean for it to come out like it did!" Relena looked at   
him, and sh slowly smiled.  
"It's fine, Duo. I understand." She turned to Amara, who was laughing still. "I   
gotta book, so I'll see ya tomorrow!"  
"K, bye Lena!" The girls hugged, and parted.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Relena, Duo, and Heero were slumped over their books in the living room   
upstairs.  
"Man, I'm never gonna understand this stuff!" Duo yelled, after reading over   
chapter one in his World History book.   
"Duo, it isn't that hard," Relena said, stifling another giggle. Poor Duo had been   
trying to understand the lesson, but he couldn't.  
"So, the Egyptians were supposively the first civilization then?" he asked Relena   
and Heero.  
"Well, some think so. That won't be on the test thought," Heero said.  
"It won't?"   
"No, because it isn't important," Relena explained.  
"Well, what's the point in this anyway?"  
"Duo, the history of our world is what got us here today. Aren't you even a little   
interested as to how much we've advanced throughout history?" Duo looked at Relena,   
and then at his book.  
"Yeah, I guess, Lena. But I don't really care to learn it very much. It's boring," he   
said, leaning back in his chair. Relena and Heero shook there heads and sighed.  
"Duo, we'll help, but you have to promise you'll actually listen," Heero said.  
"Yeah yeah, I know."  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
About three hours later, around 11:00 P.M., Quatre walked out of his room to get   
a little snack. On his way down, he noticed that Heero was still up, with an exhausted   
Relena resting her head on his shoulder as they watched television.  
"Heero, why are you still up?" Quatre asked, whispering. Everyone else was in   
bed.  
"Well, we haven't finished our studies yet, and Relena wanted to check up on   
Sank."  
"Oh, okay. I'm getting some food, and then going to bed."  
"Okay," Heero said, never taking his eyes off of the television. Relena was nearly   
asleep, as they continued watching, while Quatre had already left. Five minutes later he   
was back upstairs, and in bed. Heero sighed as he turned off the t.v.  
"Relena, let's go to bed," Heero said. When he turned to her, he saw that she had   
fallen asleep.  
She looks just like an angel, he thought, looking at her peaceful face. She stirred   
slightly, and opened her eyes.  
"Heero?" she said, gazing into his eyes.  
"Yes?"  
"Can I stay with you tonight?" she asked innocently. Her eyes pleaded with him,   
and he agreed. She smiled and followed him into his room, glancing at the bed.  
"Um, I can take the floor if you-"  
"No Heero, don't be silly. I will," she said sleepily. He nodded as he prepared a   
bed for her. She slumped onto it, and covered up with the large comforter.  
"Goodnight, Relena," Heero said, as he layed down. When he heard no answer,   
he assumed she was already asleep. He followed soon after her, dreaming of the past, as   
always.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Relena was running, from what though, she wasn't sure. She saw a Gundam, but   
it was new. Climbing into the cockpit, she turned it on.  
"Mission, accepted," she said. As she left the hanger she was in, she joined a   
battle. She saw the five original Gundams, and then she saw six new ones. Turning to   
her right, her screen showed Wing Zero, and it was about to go down.   
"Heero!" she screamed, as she raced to his rescue. The enemy attacked with full   
force, bringing them both down. She was about to hit the ground when...  
  
  
Relena sat upright, sweat pouring down her face. She slowly brought her   
breathing back to normal, as she went over the dream in her head.  
It was like the one I had before, she thought, climbing to her feet. She glanced   
next to her, and she saw Heero's sleeping form.  
He looks so peaceful. Like an angel, she thought, reaching over him. She moved   
his wild bangs out of his face, and smiled gently. Then she crawled quietly over him, and   
rested between him and the wall. She layed down on his chest, and drifted off to sleep,   
not once disturbing her prince.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Heero smiled as he felt Relena cuddle up next to him. When he knew she was   
asleep, he wrapped his arms around her, and fell back into dreamland.   
  



	6. A Night With The GIrls

A Normal Life  
By: Jade Starlight  
  
Chapter Five: A Night With The Girls  
  
  
Relena quickly changed out of her skirt that she wore to school, and replaced it   
with a pair of khaki Capri's. She kept her pink spaghetti strap tank on, and threw her hair   
into a ponytail.  
The girls will be here soon! she thought, rushing out of her bedroom door. She   
was going so fast, that she bumped into someone.  
"Sorry Trowa," she said. He nodded to her.  
"Why are you in a hurry?"  
"The girls are coming soon!" she yelled, dashing down the stairs to grab some   
food.  
"The girls?" Wufei asked, obviously puzzled. As Relena made her way back   
upstairs, she replied with a quick nod.  
"Remember? Shiri and the gang are staying over tonight!"  
"WHAT?! I HAVE TO PUT UP WITH GIRLS ALL NIGHT?!" Wufei yelled.  
"Yes, so cool it. We aren't gonna bother you, Wufei. We'll be in the upstairs   
living room, out of your hair." The doorbell rang, and Relena rushed back downstairs,   
and opened the door.  
"Hey Lena! What's hangin'?" Shiri said, greeting her friend with a hug. Relena   
smiled and ushered everyone upstairs.  
"Nothing much, just cleaning before you all came over."  
"Well, there was no point in that, because we're just gonna make a mess anyway,"   
Jade said, putting her sleeping bag and book bag on the floor. The other threw theirs in   
the same corner.  
"So, what should we do first?" Alondra asked. Before anyone could answer, they   
were interrupted.  
"What's this?" Duo asked, as he walked into the room.  
"I invited them over to stay," Relena answered.  
"Awesome! So, are we gonna watch a movie or somethin'?" he asked, plopping   
onto the couch. Isis giggled, and shook her head, as Shiri approached him.  
"Um, Duo, we will be watching movies, but that's later. Right now we're doing   
makeovers and girly stuff, and I don't think you'd like that."   
"Makeovers?" Relena asked.  
"Yeah. Ya know, when you paint your nails, and let others do your hair and   
makeup and stuff," Amara explained.  
"Yikes! I'm gone!" Duo said, racing out of the room. He passed a curious Heero   
and Quatre in the hall.   
"What's going on?" Heero asked, looking at the five new arrivals.  
"We're staying here, and no, you can't be with us bacause it's a girls night," Isis   
quickly explained.  
"Enough said," Quatre replied, backing out of the room. He remembered when   
his sisters had this when he was young. Heero shrugged, and followed in suit, not giving   
it a second thought.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
At about 11:00, the girls were giving each other makeovers. Before that, they did   
mud masks and manicures, while watching TV.  
"So, let me get this straight. We pair up, and do each other?" Relena asked. The   
girls nodded in excitement, and whipped out their makeup kits and bags.  
"Okay, Relena and I will do each other," Jade said.   
"Me and Isis," Shiri said.  
"And I'll do you," Alondra said happily, pointing to Amara.  
"And while we're occupied, how about some..." Jade teased, pausing.  
"How about what?" Relena said, all completely new to this. Jade smiled   
devilishly, as she popped a tape in. The girls looked impatiently at the television,   
anticipating the movie. They smiled wildly when they saw what it was, except for   
Relena.  
"BUFFY!!!!" they all yelled really, really, really loud.   
"Buffy?"  
"Yep, Lena! Only the best show ever!' Jade said. Relena shrugged, sitting down   
so Jade could start on her. The others followed this, and they all watched with grins on   
their faces, except for Relena, who watched with interest.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
An hour later, everyone was done, and now they were watching the "movie,"   
shouting about every little thing.  
"Grr! No you fool! Don't do that!" Relena screamed, as they watched Becoming   
Part 2. It had just started.  
"Angel! Leave him be!" Shiri yelled.  
"Leave who be?" Duo asked, poking his head into the room.  
"Giles! He can't take much more of this torture!" Isis answered.  
"Then he is weak," Wufei replied, following Duo over to the empty couch. The   
girls were all gathered around the TV.  
"Giles is not weak! You don't even know!" Alondra shouted. The other three   
boys walked in, taking their places on the couch. They watched with interest as the girls   
got angry, and they also watched the show.  
"Buffy, no! Why do you have to kill him!" Relena said. She was clenching her   
fists, and pounded the ground with every word. The boys laughed, only to recieve glares   
from the girls.  
"Oh my God!" Relena gasped. Buffy and Angelus, or Angel, were sword fighting.  
"Man, that girl kicks butt!" Duo yelled.  
"Yeah, I agree!" Wufei said. He watched with interest, and shrugged when   
everyone gave him a weird look.  
"Willow did it! She got his soul back!" Relena yelled in delight. The other girls   
new what was going to happen though.  
"Ready for a bummer?" Shiri asked her. Relena just looked at her quizzically, and   
shrugged, looking back at the TV.   
"Aww, that's so sweet! But wait a sec, if the portal can only close by his blood,   
then doesn't that mean-"  
"Yeah, it does," Isis said sadly. They watched as Buffy cried, kissed Angel, said   
she loved him, and then-  
"NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!! SHE CAN"T KILL HIM!!!!!" Relena yelled. All   
was quiet as they watched Buffy sobbing. The girls were also doing this.  
"Why? Why did it have to do that? Man, I hate depressing shows! The lovers are   
supposed to be together!" Relena fumed. She stomped around the room, and Jade joined   
her.  
"I know! They were totally meant for each other, and one lousy thing screwed it   
all up!"  
"Why does she have to suffer?! It's wrong that she was left alone!" Relena   
shouted again. Tears were still streaming, but she tried to control herself.  
I know it's only a show, but it was so depressing, and I can definately relate!  
The boys looked on, and they started laughing, even Heero and Trowa.  
"Guys, it isn't funny!" Alondra said. The girls were fuming.  
"Yes it is! You guys are all worked up over some television show!" Duo said in   
between giggles.  
"Oh yeah, do you know how much people can relate?" Relena said.  
"And?"  
"So it is not funny, Duo! That stuff hurts!" Relena yelled.  
"Really, and anyway, it is a good show!" Jade said, joining in again. When the   
boys stopped laughing after seeing how serious the girls were, all was silent. The girls   
collected themselves, and then they quietly started giggling, Relena starting it.  
"What's so funny?" Wufei asked, clearly puzzled at the sudden mood change.  
"We were so stupid! Getting all worked up like that! And you should've seen   
your faces!" Amara said in between laughs. She pointed at the Relena, who was also   
cracking up. "And you! You were the best! I mean, you got so rowled up at that last   
scene!"  
"I know!" she replied, grabbing her stomach, as she fell to the floor. The others   
did as well, still laughing hysterically. The boys, in the meantime, were shaking their   
heads, and looking extremely puzzled.  
"Women, too complex!" Wufei muttered.  
"You know, Lena, you deserve an Emmy for that performance!" Isis said. Relena   
got up and bowed.  
"I know, I know. And I'd like to thank you all for making this possible! AH!"   
Relena ducked as a pillow flew at her head.  
"Well, we'll leave you WHOA! what did you guys do?" Duo asked, noticing for   
the first time that their hair and faces looked different. Relena paused in the middle of   
swinging a pillow at Alondra.  
"It's called a makeover," Shiri said matter-of-factly.  
"A what?" Trowa asked, speaking up for the first time.  
"A makeover. It's when girls do each others hair and face with makeup!" Jade   
said.  
"Well, I must say, you all look great!" Quatre said, smiling  
"Well, thank you my darling Mr. Winner," Relena said bowing. Heero turned   
towards Duo, a strange look on his face.  
"Is it just me, or is Relena not being herself?" he whispered.  
"Yeah, I know. She's been this way since she met these girls," Duo replied. Then   
he fell to the floor on his stomach, dodging a pillow.  
"Hey, watch out! We almost got hit!" Heero yelled.  
"Yeah, so?" Relena shrugged. Heero gave her a death glare, and in return he got a   
smirk. As they kept their staring contest up, Relena got impailed by a pillow smack dab   
in the back of her head.  
"OW! THAT HURT!" she screeched, swiping her pillow up. She turned to find   
the culprit, which was Jade. Relena smiled, and then swung her pillow, hitting home.   
Jade fell backwards at impact, tripping over Shiri, who was already down. She also took   
Isis with when she grabbed her for support, who in turn grabbed Alondra, who grabbed   
the nearby Amara.  
"Relena, I suggest you run!" Isis grunted. All four girls glared at her from their   
piling bodies, as she slowly backed away while they got up.  
"Now guys, come on. I...It wasn't my fault! I just got Jade back! Honest!"   
Relena held up her hands in protest. The boys laughed at the scared Relena. They also   
moved out of the way as she ran as fast as possible down the stairs.  
"Get her!" Alondra yelled, racing after her. The others followed in suit.  
"LENA! YOU BETTER VAMOS A.S.A.P.!" Duo yelled. He and the boys were   
cracking up, rolling on the floor.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
After the pillow fight fiasco, the girls calmed down, and made a bunch of snacks   
to eat while they watched three movies: The Mummy, The Matrix, and Interview With A   
Vampire.  
"So what's first?" Relena asked.  
"How about, THE MUMMY!!!" Jade screamed, jumping up and down.   
"Jade, hunny, chill. I know how much you love Brendan Fraeser, but ya gotta   
tone it down a bit," Isis said, attempting to control her a little. However, she failed   
completely.  
"Uh uh! I'm too powered up with sugar!" she squealed.   
"DITTO!!!" Relena and Shiri yelled. Isis looked over to see Alondra and Amara   
digging into a bag of candy.  
"It's gonna be a long night," she whispered, shaking her head.   
After about ten minutes, the girls were calmed, and watching the movie, the guys   
joining them.   
  



	7. Mission...Complete

A Normal Life  
By: Jade Starlight  
  
Chapter Six: Mission...Complete  
  
  
Relena was sitting around her living room upstairs five weeks after the slumber   
party. Everyone was gone, but Duo, who was sleeping peacefully in his room. Well,   
almost.  
*SNORE!!!* Relena sighed heavily. I can't take much more of his noises! she   
thought, turning up the volume of the television. She was about to wake him up, when   
the vid phone rang.  
"This is Relena," she said, sighing at the noise she still heard. Shiri's face appeared.  
"Hey, Lena! How's it going?"  
"Horrible! Duo's snoring is driving me nuts!" she said frustratingly. Shiri cringed   
and frowned.  
"Sounds like ya need a break. Why don't you go shopping with me and the girls?   
We're going for new clubbing clothes!"  
"Clubbing clothes?"  
"Yeah. We're going to a club tonight, and we want you to come!"   
"Sure! Anything to get out of here! When ya coming?"  
"Two. That gives ya half an hour."  
"K."  
"And Lena?"  
"Yeah?"  
"Can we use your place to get ready?"  
"No prob! See ya soon!" The girls hung up with each other, and Relena rushed to   
take a shower. Fifteen minutes later she was done. She threw on a bright blue knee   
length skirt and a blue flowered tank top. Then she threw her hair up into her usual   
braided style, and slipped on her white flip flops. Ten minutes later she had her purse and   
spring jacket on, and was out the door. She sat outside, waiting for the girls to arrive.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Jade sighed heavily.  
"Someone needs to call Dr. Hino and let him know our plan's getting carried out   
tonight," she said. Shiri nodded.  
"Alondra, you do it," she said, handing her the hand held screen. Alondra   
punched the numbers in, and waited for Dr. Hino's face to appear.  
"Hino here," the young man said.  
"Dr. Hino, it's Alondra. I'm informing you that we'll have them tonight," she said   
exasperatingly.   
"Are you positive?"  
"Yes. We'll have all six of them tonight by midnight."   
"Excellent! See you at midnight!" His face disappeared. The four girls stood   
there, frowning deeply.  
"I wish we didn't have to do this to her! To them!" Jade shouted. Everyone   
nodded.  
"I know. We're about to ruin her life," Isis said quietly. Then Amara sighed   
heavily, and silently headed out the door to the jeep. The others followed quietly, and no   
one spoke a single word the whole way to Relena's.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Around seven, the girls started getting ready for their night out. They were all in   
Relena's room, putting on their new outfits.  
"This is stellar you guys!" Amara said, looking in the mirror. She had on dark   
purple leather pants, a black shirt that said "Fallen Angel" in purple lettering, and black   
boots. Her hair was half up and curled in ringlets.  
"Definately!" Alondra said. She was wearing a black skirt with red roses all over   
it that was mid thigh length, blood red tank top with the words "Devilish" in black, and   
knee high black boots.   
"I know! I love my new outfit!" Shiri said. She had on a light blue skirt with a   
flowers in the lower right corner, a white sequenced halter top, and white open toed   
platform sandals. He hair had two braids in the front, one on each side, and the rest was   
straight.  
"How do I look?" Isis asked. She twirled around.  
"Awesome!" Amara said, giving her two thumbs up.   
Isis wore dark brown suede pants, a light green suede halter-top, and brown boots.   
Her hair was in one braid, reaching her waste.  
"And what about me?" Jade asked. She was wearing pink bubble gum colored   
pleather pants, a black belly tee that said "Rocker Babe" in pink letters, and black boots.   
Her hair was half up in a clip, and curled nicely under. She also had a plain silver belt   
around her waste, hanging to her side.  
"Excellent! Say, is Lena out yet?" Shiri asked. Everyone shook their heads, as   
Shiri knocked on the door. "Lena, come on!" she said.  
"No!"  
"Come on or I'll drag you out myself!"  
"Fine! But I don't like this!" Relena stepped outside of the bathroom, holding her   
stomach. Shiri pried her hands away.  
"Don't cover it up! You look great!"  
"Yeah, all the boys will be after you tonight!" Jade said.  
"Really? If you say so," Relena shrugged. She was wearing a black mini skirt, a   
black belly haulter top, and black knee high boots. Her hair was down, and in spiral   
curls.  
"Let's go," Amara said, leading the way out of the house.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Around about eleven thirty, Amara, Jade, and Isis left the club to get the car,   
which was parked a block away.  
"Do you think the boys are home yet? They've been gone since four," Relena said   
to Alondra. She smiled, and faced Relena as they stood on the sidewalk, waiting. Shiri   
nodded to Alondra, and Relena didn't take notice.  
"Oh I'm sure they are. They probebly just went out for dinner or something.   
They'll be fine."  
"Well, I sure hope s-" Relena was cut off as a hand covered her mouth and nose   
with a dampened cloth.  
"We're so sorry Relena," Shiri whispered, as Relena fought, and slowly passed   
out. Tears streamed from Alondra's eyes, as she and Shiri gathered the former princess   
up, and piled into the jeep.  
"On to faze two," Isis said sadly. The thirty-minute ride to the compound training   
base was deadly silent.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Relena awoke, only to find herself tied to a chair. Her vision adjusted to the   
bright light. She glanced around and saw that she was in a large room, with some chairs,   
and a couple of computers. A large screen was in front of her, and to the side their were   
swinging doors.  
What hap-I remember! Relena thought angrily, remembering what her friends did.  
"Make that ex-friends," she said aloud.  
"Don't say that, Lena," a voice said. She knew it was Jade.  
"Why not? You kidnapped me!" she screamed.  
"We had to! It was our mission! Do you think we actually want to hurt you!" Isis   
shouted. Relena struggled with the rope around her wrists, cutting them up a little.  
"If you promise to sit and listen, I'll untie you," Alondra said. They were behind   
Relena, so she couldn't see them.  
"Fine, just get me out of this!" Alondra untied her, and she sprang up, glaring at   
the five girls in front of her now. She also noticed a young man in a lab coat sitting at a   
table, watching everything.  
"Ah, Miss Relena Dorlain, or should I say the former Queen of the World, how   
nice to meet you," the brown haired man with glasses said.   
"And you are?"  
"Dr. Hino, these five girls' trainer. And soon to be yours," he said, walking over   
to her. He held a folder in his hand with papers sticking out of it.  
"What do you mean? And how did you know it was me?" she asked, backing   
away.  
"Now, Relena, you musn't leave. I have something very valuable to you."  
"And what is that?" she asked bitterly. The other girls looked on, sadness in their   
eyes, as the five former Gundam pilots were dragged in by some security officers. They   
were tied and gagged.  
"What?! What did you do?!" she asked, running towards them. They were now   
seated in some chairs against the wall.  
"Nothing, yet. I actually need them, and you as well. I knew they wouldn't   
cooperate though, so I had them kidnapped," the scientist explained, walking towards   
Relena.  
"Lena, listen to what he has to to say. It's very important," Jade said. Her eyes, as   
well as the others, were pleading with her to cooperate. Relena turned to the boys, who   
were shaking their heads no, and trying to say stuff, but it came out as muffled sounds.  
"Fine, I'll listen to what your little explanation is," she said bitterly, taking the   
folder. As she started flipping through, Dr. Hino began to explain things.  
"You see Relena, you have an interesting past. Yes, it was true that you once   
belong to the late King of the Sank Kingdom, and yes, you were found by someone the   
day it was destroyed, but it wasn't by Vice Foreign Minister Dorlain." He paused, to   
make sure she was listening, and she definitely was. Her eyes were practically popping   
out of her head.  
"Ex-excuse me?" she stumbled out.   
"You were taken in by Dr. J, who later turned you over to me." Heero's eyes were   
huge, as well as the other Gundam pilots. They all knew what he meant by "taken in."  
"You mean, I was-"  
"Yes, my dear. You were trained to be an assassin, until the age of ten. That is   
when I handed you over to the Dorlain's."  
"And I don't remember this why?"  
"Because I invented a memory syrum that completely buried your memory of   
combat and your past, until I would bring you back to resurface it."  
"And that time is now," Relena stated quietly. She looked down, and then back   
up again. "You want me to join your team."  
"Yes, but there's more than that. You will join and be the leader of my Gundam   
team."  
"And if I don't?"  
"If you don't, I'll let you leave. But Relena, I know for a fact that there are some   
people who know about this that should not. People who remember you when you   
destroyed their loved ones, and they will hunt you down, and they will kill you. Also,   
your memories will resurface soon, and that means you will have to live with the burden   
of your sins the rest of your life, unable to do anything about it."   
Relena simply stared at him, and then the other girls, and down at the folder she   
held. She thought this over thoroughly, and finally came up with an answer.  
"I will do it, on one condition."  
"What?"  
"I get to leave, and visit whomever I choose, whenever I choose."  
"Very well, I shall allow it. Untie the boys," Hino ordered. The girls untied them,   
and resumed their positions on the other side of the room  
"Relena, this is suicide! Your life will be forever stained!" Heero yelled, shaking   
her. She looked at him, tears in her eyes.  
"Heero, you heard him. I have no choice. I've done this before," she whispered.   
Heero embraced he tightly, as the others watched. Then, finally someone spoke up.  
"What do you want with us?" Quatre demanded.  
"I want you to form my other team. I have your trainers on their way, to help   
retrain you, as well as Relena. My girls will also help."  
"Very well. Let me just inform you of one thing. We're doing this for Relena, not   
you, not them, or anyone else," Duo said, gritting his teeth.  
"I know. I'll show you to your rooms, where you'll stay while working on   
missions, and then you can leave, and go back to your home."  
"Fine," was all Heero said, as he and the others followed Dr. Hino out of the   
room.  
"Mission...Complete," Isis whispered.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
In the training base, the five Gundam boys and Relena were given a brief tour of   
the place. In the middle of examining the equipment, an alarm sounded.  
"What is it Dr. Hino?" Jade asked.   
"I'm not sure. Come with me," he said, leading the eleven teens into a room. It   
appeared to be a security room, for there were camera pictures everywhere, exposing   
every hallway and the Gundam hanger.  
"Dr. Hino, we have a problem," a young man said, joining the group.  
"What is it?"  
"Well, sir, it appears that someone is after Relena already. They sent this," the   
young man handed him a piece of paper.  
"It says 'You will pay, Relena, for everything you did.' and it's signed 'L.'" Relena   
just looked at everyone, fear showing in her eyes.  
"Shiri, Jade, you know what to do," Dr. Hino said, nodding towards the combat   
room. The girls grabbed Relena, and led her to the room across the hall. The boys started   
to follow, but stopped when Dr. Hino shut the doors.  
"Boys, let Relena go for a minute. She can't have any distractions while they   
refresh her memory."  
"What are they going to show her?" Heero asked, anger hinted in his voice. Dr.   
Hino pointed to the screen monitor to the left, and pushed a button. The room the girls   
went into popped up, and they saw the three of them.  
"Just watch," was all Dr. Hino said. They turned around and did so.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
"What is this?" Relena asked, as she was directed into a chair in front of a screen.   
The girls took wires and stuck them to her head, on her temples, and her neck.  
"Relena, just trust us, and sit still," Jade directed. She reached over and turned on   
the screen.  
"Please type in a code," the voice directed. Jade typed in "Weaponry," and images   
started flashing on the screen, followed by words and numbers.  
"Wh-what's going on?! Ah!" Relena screamed as the information was transferred   
to her brain, resurfacing her memory on weapons.  
"Hey, you're hurting her!" Duo yelled.  
"No we aren't. Just sit still and watch," Dr. Hino said. The boys glared at him and   
continued watching, as Relena's eyes shut. She remained motionless for a few minutes   
while the screen finished flashing.  
Relena moved her head up, looking at the screen, which was now black. Her head   
was pounding, and she could hear her heart in her ears.  
"My head...ow," she mumbled, standing up. Shiri detached the wires, and took   
her hand, placing a gun in it. Relena's eyes went wide, but then she started inspecting it.  
"This is a gun," she stated.  
"Yep, now, shoot the bulls eye over on the wall," Shiri said, pointing to a black   
and white board. Relena turned, and without a second thought, fired. She hit her target,   
right in the middle. Jade and Shiri smiled.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
"That's it, Lena. Remember your training," Isis whispered. The boys were all   
shocked. They never thought that Relena would do anything like that, let alone so well.  
"I'm taking her home," Heero said. He left the room to get her. The others   
followed, equally angry and still somewhat shocked.  
Relena turned abruptly when she heard the doors swing open to the room. The   
gun was still in her hands.  
"We're leaving Relena," Heero said, grabbing her arm. She struggled, and   
somehow broke free.  
"Wait a minute guys," she said. A smile crept across her face. She turned to Shiri   
and Jade. "Can I-"  
"Yeah, sure. We've got plenty more. Oh yeah, and guys, here's your guns," Shiri   
said, pointing to a small table with five guns on it. The boys reluctantly took them, and   
left, Relena following. Alondra stopped Relena and handed her a labtop.  
"We'll contact you when you're to come back," she said. Relena nodded, and left.  
"I hope she survives her first test," Amara said.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
The boys and Relena were about a block from home. Heero was beside Relena,   
and every few minutes he was turning around.  
"You have that feeling too, huh?" Relena said, also looking back. Heero   
immediately looked forward.  
"What feeling?"  
"That someone's following u-" she never got to finish, because someone shot her   
in the arm, and she was down.  
"Guys! We have an attacker!" Heero yelled, as he dropped to Relena's side. She   
held the wound as he ripped off part of his shirt, wrapping it around her arm.  
"Ow, I never knew how much getting shot hurt. Ow!" she grunted as he finished   
tying it. The other four were standing around them, searching the dark streets for   
anyhting. Relena made her way to her feet, and Heero supported her until she was   
standing.  
"Well, I don't see any-" this time Quatre was cut off, as Relena fired at him, or so   
he thought. Relena held the gun up, and Quatre realized it was pointed behind him.  
"Move and you're dead," Relena growled. The figure behind Quatre stood still,   
and stared at the group. The boys were in complete shock, piling behind Relena and   
Heero in a line.  
"Drop the gun and move into the light," Relena commanded. The unknown figure   
did so, stepping into the street light. Her eyes went wide when she saw the culprit.  
"Well done, Miss Relena. Now you are ready to begin. You passed the test,"   
Dorothy Catalonia said.   
"They sent you?" Heero said disbelievingly. Dorothy smiled.  
"Yes, they did. You passed the test, and now you are going to begin training.   
They will inform you of when soon!" she yelled, running away.  
"A test?! I was put to test?! I got shot for a STUPID test?!" Relena screamed.   
Duo snickered, but stopped when Relena gave him a death glare.  
"Man Relena, you look like Heero when you do that! Stop!" he said. Heero   
glared at him as well, and then the two of them continued on their way home, the others   
following behind.   
  
  



	8. Training, Gundams, and the First Mission

A Normal Life  
By: Jade Starlight  
  
Chapter Seven: Training, Gundams, and the First Mission  
  
  
Relena swirled around, ducking Alondra's punch, and swiftly moved up, grabbing   
her right arm and twisting it around. She held her in a locked position.  
"Nice job, but not good enough," Alondra panted out. She grabbed Relena's leg   
and yanked hard, sending her crashing to the ground. Relena quickly rolled out of the   
way as Alondra went to stab her in the head. She flipped onto her feet, facing her foe.  
"Ya know, someone could lose an eye with that," Relena said. She swiftly kicked   
up, sending the sword flying into the air. Then she kicked Alondra back, and she flew   
into the wall, sliding to the ground. Relena jumped up, caught the sword, and landed in   
front of Alondra, who was climbing to her feet, panting hard. Relena raised the sword to   
her chin, slowly directing her up.  
"Give?" Relena asked, a smirk on her face. Alondra nodded, and they started   
laughing hysterically.  
"Man, you should've seen your face when I had you on the floor! It was   
priceless!"   
"Oh yeah, what about you?! You looked terrified a couple of seconds ago in that   
lock!"  
"Girls!" Dr. Hino yelled. They immediately stopped laughing, and stood straight   
as a pin, directing their attention to him, hand up ready to salute.  
"Sir!" both girls yelled. Dr. Hino glared at them, and then smiled. The two girls   
hugged him tightly.  
"Excellent job Relena! You have successfully beaten everyone's scores. You are   
now the fastest and most skillful pilot around," he said, a huge grin spreading across his   
features.  
"How fast was I this time?"  
"Just under a minute."  
"Definitely not shabby, Lena!" Isis said, entering the training room.  
"So, wanna do it again?" Alondra asked. Relena shook her head.  
"No. I gotta shower. I feel disgusting!" she said, leaving the room.  
"Well, ya look like it too!" Isis yelled when Relena disappeared, or so she thought.  
"I heard that! Thanks a lot!" Relena replied sarcastically, appearing in the   
doorway. The girls all started laughing, as Relena walked to the elevator. She went to   
the second floor, and walked down the long corridor. She was immediately greeted by   
Duo.  
"Yo, Lena! How'd it go?" he asked.  
"Great! I am now the fastest out of my team! Dr. Hino says I beat Alondra in   
under a minute!"   
"That's awesome Lena!" Duo yelled, picking her up. He twirled around, bear   
hugging her, as she tried to get him off.  
"Duo, I know, but do you really think it's worth squeezing me to death?" she said,   
giggling in between words. He sheepishly put her down, and smiled.  
"Sorry, I just got excited."  
"No prob, now I gotta go bathe," she said, opening her door. Duo waved, and he   
left, as she shut the door, and headed straight for the bathroom.   
An hour later, she was out of the bath and fully dressed, brushing her hair while   
looking in the mirror. She opened the door and left the bathroom, walking over to her   
laptop.  
"Hey Heero," she said, not once looking at him, as he appeared from behind her   
now open bathroom door.  
"I can never slip by you now, you know that? It's not fun," he said, walking over   
and glancing at her computer screen.  
"I know, but it isn't like you have a reason to anyway," she said, shrugging. She   
opened her e-mail box and found a letter from her brother. "Well, I guess everything's   
going good in Sank. That's a relief," she said, moving on. This had no title. She read it,   
and she smiled widely.  
"What is it?" Heero asked.  
"Well, Dr. Hino wants to show me my Gundam," she said excitedly. She grabbed   
Heero and started leaving, but he stopped her and kissed her before they left.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
"Ah, Miss Relena. How nice to see you again," Dr. J said, approaching the couple   
as they entered the hanger. Relena merely looked at him and nodded. She hadn't really   
talked to him or any of the other scientists since she found out the truth about herself a   
year ago.  
"Relena, over here girl!" Amara yelled, waving her hands around so she'd see her.   
Amara was on the open door to the cockpit of a Gundam.  
"Hey! Is this yours?" Relena asked, as she and Heero stood under the legs,   
examining it. Amara was lowered down, and she greeted Relena with a hug.  
"Yep! Isn't it great?! By the way, how'd the test go?"  
"Yeah, it is awesome, and the test was fine. I am now faster than all of you, and   
Hino says I'm also the best skilled!"  
"Lena, that's terrific!" Amara squealed, once again hugging her friend. Heero just   
looked at Relena, a small smile on his face, before Amara could catch it.  
"Relena, we're ready now," a voice said. She looked over to see Trowa standing   
against the wall, awaiting her presence.   
"Trowa, hey! We're coming!" she said, running over to him.  
"This way," he said, leading the three into the other hanger.  
When Relena saw something huge being covered by a large sheet, she knew it was   
her Gundam.  
"Well Relena, are you ready to see it?" Dr. Hino asked. Relena shook her head   
excitedly, as she watched it being unvailed. She never expected what she saw.  
"Dr. Hino, it's beautiful!" she exclaimed. She turned to the others with a huge   
smile on her face. "Don't you think so?"  
"Definitely, Lena," Amara said. The boys just nodded.  
"Do you want to know what it's called?" Dr. Hino asked. As Relena continued   
gawking at the machine, she slowly shook her head.  
"Sure," was her response.  
"It's name is Dammi, which means 'gentle princess.' It only seemed appropriate   
for you."  
"Thank you very much!" Relena said, hugging Dr. Hino. She let go and walked   
over to the cord that would bring her to the cockpit. "Can I?"  
"Of course. Go check it out," Dr. Hino said, waving her on. She held on as she   
was raised up into it.  
"Dr. Hino, we have the status on her Gundam. Shall we give it to her?" Dr. J   
asked. Dr. Hino nodded, awaiting Relena's return. She jumped down off the cord,   
landing with gracefulness on the floor.  
"Here are the stats Relena. I hope you like it," he said, handing her a folder with   
papers in it. She took it and immediately started reading it.  
"Let's see. It has a buster rifle, a beam saber, a buster shield, a beam cannon, and   
two crown disks. Crown disks?" she asked, looking up at Hino.  
"Yes. They are somewhat like the beam halos on Cupid, only yours can cut   
anything in half, and they never have to be recharged."  
"Really? Awesome! Let's see," she looked back at the paper. "I also have the   
Zero System," she did a double take and her eyes went wide. "WHAT?!"  
"Yes, you have the Zero System. I feel that you are capable of handling it, so I   
installed it in your Gundam."  
"Do you have any idea what that does to people? I could end up losing it and   
destroying everything!"  
"But you won't. You always used that, before you were handed over to the   
Dorlians," Dr. J stepped in.  
"I what? No way is that possible!"   
"It is true. You were trained to use that the first day I found you, and you used it   
for seven years."  
"Um, I think I'll leave now," she said, still shocked. Heero followed, as Trowa   
and Amara simply shrugged, and left to attend to their Gundams.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
"Relena, wait please," Heero said, running to catch up to her. She stopped the   
doors to the elevator from closing, awaiting his presence. When he got in, he attempted   
to start a conversation, but she was deep in thought, and there was no pulling her out.  
When they reached her room, she went straight to the computer, and started   
hacking away.  
"Relena, what are you doing?"  
"I'm going to find out everything I can about my past."  
"Are you sure you want to do that? You may find out about things you regret,"   
Heero warned. Relena ignored that last statement, and he knew not to press her anymore.   
he sat that and studied her determined face, because he'd never seen her like this before.   
She just continued typing her way through every access code to the system in the   
compound.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
"So, Millardo is in trouble? And you want someone to go protect him?" Quatre   
asked, as Dr. Hino printed out the reports for his new file.  
"Yes, and I know exactly who can do it."  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Heero had left Relena's room a half an hour ago. She was so wrapped up in her   
search that she actually didn't pay a whole lot of attention to him for once. He didn't like   
her behavior though, bacause it seemed very unhealthy for her. As he laid on his bed, and   
began to dose, he heard "You've got mail," from his computer.  
"Terrific," he groaned, reaching the computer. Within seconds he had opened up   
the new mail. It was a mission. As quickly as he read it, he typed the words   
Mission...Accepted. Grabbing his jean jacket, he waltzed out the door and back to   
Relena.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
"Damn it! Nothing!" Relena cursed. She jumped up and started pacing, running   
her fingers through her hair.  
Okay, think, Relena. Where else would the information be?! She continued her   
pacing for several minutes, and then pounded her fists on the wall hard, releasing her   
frustration.  
"Did I come at a bad time?" Relena spun around to find Heero in her doorway,   
looking at her amusingly.  
"No, no you didn't. What's up?" She walked over to him, anger and frustration   
nearly gone. Heero raised an eyebrow, but got right to the point.  
"I'm leaving tonight, in about an hour. It's a new mission."  
"What is it?" she asked, rapping her arms around his waste. he wrapped his   
around her, as she rested her head on his chest.  
"It's confidential. I can't say."  
"Hm," was all Relena said.  
"Are you sure you're okay?"  
"Yeah. It's just, well, every time you leave, there's a chance you may never   
return," she whispered. He pulled away a little, and lifted her chin up.  
"I will always return, because I have you to come back to," he said, and then he   
kissed her gently, before breaking away. "Wait for me," he said, pausing at the door.  
"Always," Relena whispered, as he disappeared from her sight.  
Relena sighed, before falling into a deep sleep.  
  
  
Relena ran down a large corridor. There were doors on every side of it. The   
numbers read 100, 101, 102... Relena glanced form sign to sign. Where's number 113?   
she thought. She heard gunfire, followed by yelling.  
"She went that way! Kill her!" a man's voice yelled. She frantically searched for   
room 113. 110, 111, 112...ah ha! 113! She ducked into the room.  
"Who are you?" a demanding voice said. Relena turned to face a women who   
appeared to be in her late twenties. She was standing near the balcony.  
"It doesn't matter. I've found my target." Relena raised a gun, pointing it at the   
woman, who just stood there. Her finger pulled back the trigger slowly, and just as she   
was about to shoot...BAM!!! A bullet pierced her arm.  
"Damn you! You'll die for what you've done!" Relena turned to face a young   
man in his late twenties also. He was dressed in a uniform that looked very familiar to   
her.  
"Wrong," was all Relena said, before running with lightning speed across the   
room, onto the balcony railing, and jumping down three stories.  
"You'll die!!!" the man yelled after her, as she landed gracefully and kept   
running. When she was clear in the trees of the forest, and no one had followed, she took   
out a detonating switch. Two seconds later, the mansion was up in smoke and flames.  
"Mission...Complete," Relena whispered with a satisfied grin on her face.  
  
  
"Oh god!!!" Relena screamed. She quickly quieted herself when she realized it   
was a dream. Or was it? she thought. Sweat was poring down her face. In the middle of   
her thoughts, a message came in on her computer. It was her first mission. She quickly   
typed Mission...Accepted, before changing into clothes, and grabbing her "tools." She   
snuck out of the compound and headed for her destination: the Sank Kingdom.   



	9. The Mission and the Past Revealed

A Normal Life  
By: Jade Starlight  
  
Chapter Eight: The Mission and The Past Revealed  
  
  
Millardo greeted his guests as they made their way into his home. He was holding   
another party for all of the Representatives, and their guests.  
"Ah, Mr. Peacecraft, I wish to congratulate you on a job well done. You are the   
only one capable of filling your sister's position. She chose well," Vice Foreign Minister   
Daly said, shaking his hand.  
"I appreciate that, Mr. Daly. Excuse me please," he said, nudging past the   
oncoming guests to meet his wife.  
"Zechs, is something wrong?" Noin asked, as he approached her.  
"No dear, I just wanted to escape the pressure of those Diplomats. Where's   
Heero?"  
"He's stationed at the front entrance. Don't worry, he isn't going anywhere."  
"I know. I can't seem to decide if I like that boy or not. He has seemed to change   
though, for the better, hasn't he?"  
"I agree. He shows his emotions a little more now, and I'm sure it has something   
to do with-"  
"I know, don't remind me."  
"I know it's been a year, but you shouldn't hate her for leaving. She did write and-  
"  
"I know, Noin. I just wish I knew what she's been doing that she can't come visit   
us."  
Noin shook her head sadly, and hugged her husband. They remained that way for   
a while.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Relena, I wish you could see your family, and see what you're putting them   
through, Heero thought, as he inspected every guest that entered the room. I hope that   
assassin makes his move soon, so I can get this over with, he thought.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Relena looked over the balcony from the shadows, as she watched her brother and   
Lucrezia embrace each other. She looked towards the entrance and saw...HEERO?!  
"What in the world is he doing here?" she whispered. Then it hit her.  
Of course! He was sent to protect my brother! But then why am I here? She   
shrugged and continued on as planned, scanning the room for any unusual characters.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
An hour later, around nine P.M, Millardo was ushered to give a speech to the   
guests. He strode up to the podium, took a deep breath, and began.  
"I would personally like to thank all of you for accepting my invitation to the   
party. If it wasn't for many of you, I may never have been able to take this job. Many of   
you, and you know who you are, have pushed me and pulled me through this time of   
peace. We all know that I can't completely fill my sister's shoes, but I am doing the best I   
can. This time of peace..." Millardo continued on with his speech, unaware of the person   
hidden near the back, in the shadows.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Relena stayed near the balcony on the second floor, eying every shadowy place.   
She still didn't see anyone pecular, but she continued her search none the less.  
If there's one thing I've learned, it's never let your guard down, she thought. As   
she continued her search, someone underneath her caught her eye. Whoever it was had a   
long coat on, and was dressed in all black. The person reached inside the coat, and began   
to slowly raise something up.  
Bingo! Relena started climbing onto the railing, grabbing her gun.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Heero saw a gun pointed at Millardo, and he drew his out as well. Just before the   
man in the black coat could pull the trigger...BANG!!! A gun shot was heard, and the   
man crumpled to the ground. Women screamed, as men rushed over to the now injured   
assassin. No one saw the dark figure dressed in black on the railing, except for Heero.   
He ran up the stairs and towards Relena's room, knowing who it was.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Relena walked over to her balcony, looking out into her homeland.  
It's so beautiful. I miss it, she thought sadly. A tear rolled down her cheek, as she   
slid the hood off of her head, letting her golden tresses fall down from the clip. She   
returned to her room, and searched for something. She froze when she heard the door   
open.  
"Relena?" Heero said, eying the figure by her dresser. Relena turned and faced   
him.  
"Well, look who's all dressed up with no place to go," she said sarcastically. Then   
she looked at her own clothing, eying her black boots, black pants, black shirt, and black   
hooded coat. "I guess I'm a perfect picture," she chirped sarcastically again.  
"Why are you here?" he asked, stepping closer. She looked into his Persian blue   
eyes and smiled.  
"Same reason as you, to protect my brother."  
"So it was your mission too, huh?" He pulled her close as she nodded silently.   
Something caught her eye, and she immediately let go.  
"Oh my gosh! My bear!" she said, running over to her closet. The bear was on a   
small shelf, and it was extremely dusty. "I can't believe I left you," she whispered   
cuddling it close.  
"You still have it, huh?" Heero asked, smirking at her childishness.  
"Well of coarse, silly. I love it."  
"That's good. Now, about the mission. Why would they send both of us?"  
"Well, I'm not sure. That's something I'm having a hard time figuring out."   
Before Heero or Relena could continue, footsteps were heard in the hallway, followed by   
yells of orders.  
"I gotta go Heero. If my brother knew I was here, he'd be asking for more than he   
bargained for," Relena said, walking towards the balcony. About halfway there, a hand   
grabbed her and spun her around. She felt Heero's lips on hers, and then just as quickly   
they were gone.   
"Don't go Relena. You belong here."  
"No, not anymore." She looked down at the floor. "I never did," she whispered,   
before darting to the balcony and climbing onto the railing.  
"Relena please!" Heero begged. She paused, looking back at him, as a tear ran   
down her cheek.  
"See you at home," she said, before jumping off of the balcony. Heero ran to it   
and looked over, but he didn't see her anywhere.  
"Relena," he whispered, before turning to leave.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   
After Heero disappeared, Relena swung up onto the balcony again.  
"Now that that's done, it's time to go," she whispered, making her way into the   
hall. She took the back way out, taking her through the gardens she loved.  
Relena, you think you're so smart sometimes; I think you forget yourself, Heero   
thought, following her through the garden. She turned around at the back gate, as another   
tear slid down her cheek.  
"Good bye, Relena Peacecraft. We will never meet again," he heard her whisper.   
He watched her walk to the road near the forest, and he saw a dirt bike parked there.  
You're going somewhere else, he thought. Heero ran to the small garage, and hopped on   
his motorcycle, ready to go after Relena. She jumped on her bike and sped down the road,   
Heero following her.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Millardo watched his sister leave, and Heero chasing after her. His eyes filled   
with tears.  
Yuy, you'd better watch her, or I'll kill you, he promised silently.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
A figure watched Heero and Relena depart from the mansion's grounds.  
"You won't get far, Relena, and soon you'll be mine," the boy spoke as he jumped   
on his motorcycle, chasing after the pair, who were headed to the beach.  
Relena hopped off of her dirt bike, setting her feet on the sand. She slipped off   
her shoes and socks, leaving them by the bike, and walked over to the water. She looked   
out into the darkness of the sky, and she saw a shooting star.  
"Do you think wishes come true?" she asked. When no one answered, she turned   
around. "Heero, I know you followed, so come out already." She placed a hand on her   
hip, and impatiently waited. A couple of seconds later, he appeared.  
"You truly amaze me, Relena. How'd you know I would come?"  
"Like you would actually stop protecting me. I know you all too well, Heero. So you   
gonna answer me?"  
"I think that wishes only come true if you want them to, and only you can grant   
them," he answered, walking over to her, as she turned back towards the ocean. She   
looked out at the waves, and slowly stepped into the water.  
"You know what I wish?" she asked, her voice shaky. Heero stopped at the water   
line, a couple of inches from her.  
"What?"  
"I wish that I had a normal life, that I wasn't ever a Peacecraft, because that's   
where my miserable life began." She turned and hugged him tightly, closing the gap, as   
tears started to fall. Heero stroked her head gently, and squeezed her tightly.  
"Don't say that Relena. If it wasn't for you, peace never would have come."  
"Peace? That's funny. Heero, we don't have true peace, and we never will. I   
know that now. I mean, if we did, do you honestly think people would try to kill my   
brother?" She walked back towards her bike, Heero on her heels. She slipped her shoes   
and socks back on, waiting for Heero's reply.  
"Relena, true peace is nearly here. And soon no one will ever have to fight or kill   
again."  
"I used to believe that too, but now I'm not so sure." Heero just stared at her as   
she got up and faced him. He didn't quite show it, but Relena could see the surprise in his   
eyes.  
"Relena, stop saying things like that. You know they aren't true, and I think you'd   
be lying if you said you did believe it." Relena was about to protest when a figure caught   
her eye.  
"Show yourself. I can see you," she demanded. A boy that looked to be their age   
stepped into view, in front of Heero. He turned to face the snooper, and sneered at him.  
"What do you want?" he asked demandingly. The figure simply smiled, and   
brought a gun to his face. Heero just stared at the boy, unfazed by the gun.  
"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Jeremiah Kinsley, and I've come to talk to   
Relena."  
"Hm, then what's the gun for?" Heero asked, glaring at him. The boy pushed his   
wild, dark red bangs out of his eyesight.  
"This is to keep her here, and now you as well. I wasn't counting on having the   
former pilot of Wing here, but oh well," the boy shrugged. Heero's eyes went wide, as   
Relena stepped in, ending the controversy.  
"Well, you have me, so what do you wish to discuss?" The boy directed his   
emerald green eyes on her, still smiling.  
"Nothing much really, just the murder of my family."  
"Murder of your family? But what does that have to do with...Oh no," she   
breathed, realizing the answer.  
"That's right, Relena. You may remember one of your missions to kill my mother,   
Julia Kinsley. She was a fellow believer in peace, just like your parents, King and Queen   
Peacecraft." He turned to Heero, who was glaring at him, and then back at Relena, who   
was beginning to remember.  
His mother was the one in my dream, only it wasn't a dream! she thought. When   
she realized that Jeremiah was staring at her expectantly, she pushed these thoughts from   
her head.   
"Where was I? Oh yeah, you attempted to murder my mother in her room, but   
you never saw the ten year old boy in the corner, watching everything."  
"Oh God," she whispered, sinking to the ground. Heero went over to her, but   
froze when he heard the gun being cocked.  
"One more inch and she dies," he threatened. When Heero put his hands up in   
defeat, Jeremiah continued.  
"You were about to shoot her, but then you heard a man, a soldier, running to the   
room. You knew if you stayed, you would die, so you leapt out the window, and ran to   
the woods. I was hot on your trail though, only you didn't know it. You blew up my   
house, and my family."  
"I'm so sorry," Relena whispered. She stood and faced Jeremiah, tears in her eyes.   
"I didn't know."  
"I know that now. My intention was to kill you up until about five months ago,   
when I learned of Dr. Hino and your past. I know everything about the memory serum,   
and I know that you are now remembering your life before the Dorlians. That is why I   
came to you, Relena. To forgive you because I knew that you would remember, and it   
would be a heavy burden on your heart."  
I don't trust him just yet, Heero thought, eying him suspiciously. Obviously   
Relena did, because she hugged him tightly.  
"Relena, I'm glad you accept, but please, save that for him," he said, pointing to   
Heero. Relena nodded, and hugged Heero tightly. Before anyone else could do or say   
anything, a shot fired, hitting Jeremiah in the arm.  
"Let's move Relena!" Heero yelled, jumping onto his motorcycle. Relena turned   
to Jeremiah.  
"Come with us! You'll be safe for now if you do!"  
"No I can't! You'll be in danger! Go!"  
"But-"  
"NOW!!!" Jeremiah yelled. Relena frowned, and hopped on Heero's motorcycle.   
He sped away, Relena watching Jeremiah disappear. The last thing they heard was a gun   
shot, followed by a scream.  
Goodbye, Jeremiah. I'm sorry.   



	10. New Friends, Old Enemies

A Normal Life  
By: Jade Starlight  
  
Chapter Nine: New Friends, Old Enemies  
  
  
Duo was with Deathscythe Hell Custom. He was pacing back and forth, talking to   
it as if it would answer back.  
"I can't believe those two! They just up and leave without a 'Goodbye' or a 'I'll be   
back'! There wasn't even a note!" he fumed, glancing at his Gundam every once in a   
while. The clearing of a throat directed his attention elsewhere.  
"Um, I hate to interrupt, but do you happen to know where Relena is?" Shiri   
asked. Duo turned, blushing furiously, forgetting about his ranting and raving for a   
couple of seconds.  
"No I don't. Both she and Heero are missing," he said. Shiri smirked at his face,   
attempting not to laugh.  
"Well, if ya see her, let her know she owes me a match, k?"  
"Sure," he said, and when Shiri started leaving, he added, "If they ever come   
back."  
"What was that?" she asked, whipping around.  
"I said 'If they ever come back.'"  
"Why would you say something like that?"  
"Well, they've been gone for a couple of days. For all we know, they've gotten   
married and aren't returning," he replied casually, shrugging.   
"Relena would never abandon us!" Shiri yelled. Duo and she stared at each other,   
and said at the same time, "Yes she would!" They burst out in laughter.  
"Sure...she would, bu-but could you-" Shiri started, but Duo cut her off.  
"See H-Heero running to -"  
"Vegas to get married in an-"  
"Elvis Chapel!!!" they both said in unison again. That made them both lose it   
completely, falling on the floor next to each other, banging on the floor, and crying from   
the laughter.  
"What's so funny?" Quatre asked, staring in disbelief at the two pilots. Shiri   
looked up and noticed that Alondra was with him.  
"We were just attempt-attempting to picture H-Heero and Relena g-getting   
married in an Elvis Chapel in Vegas!!!" she answered, starting a round of giggles again.   
Quatre and Alondra smiled at the two, stepped over them, and headed to Sandrock   
Custom.  
"Yo Quatre! Where ya going?!" Duo questioned, raising an eyebrow in between   
smiling.  
"Yeah Alondra! Where are you two going together?" Shiri yelled, calming a bit.   
Quatre blushed while Alondra glared.  
"He's gonna show me his Gundam, that's all," Alondra said angrily. Both Duo and   
Shiri smiled evilly at the remark, and broke into fits of laughter when the other two   
blushed a bright red color and stalked away.  
"Hey Duo, I got an idea!' Shiri said, smiling devilishly again. Duo did the same,   
and they started whispering and planning something for Quatre and Alondra.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Jeremiah carefully found his way to the base of the scientists in L.A.   
"So this is where my new home will be, huh?" he whispered to himself. He   
shrugged, and started making his way to the building, carefully dodging and avoiding   
security systems and guards.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`  
Trowa and Amara were both sitting in the library on base, reading books. Amara   
was reading Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, and Trowa was reading The   
Odyssey, by Homer.  
"Hmmm..." Amara whispered, but Trowa still heard her.  
"Is something wrong?"  
"What? Oh, no, I'm just upset about the plot so far, that's all," Amara replied.  
"I read that before. It's really good."  
"I know. We read it in English, remember? But I've read this many times before,   
and each time it still affects me greatly."   
"Yes it does. It just goes to show that love is a powerful tool."  
"I agree-" Amara stopped when she heard a loud BOOM! followed by a CRASH!  
"Maybe we should-"  
"Definitely," Amara said, as she and Trowa darted out the door, down the hall,   
and toward the hanger.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Wufei was in another fight with Duo, while Isis and Shiri attempted to stop it.  
"Wufei, he didn't mean it! He was only joking!" Isis yelled, trying to hold him.  
"Let me go woman! Justice must be served!" he screamed, struggling to get free.   
Shiri grabbed his arms too, attempting to hold him back while Duo stood there, eyes   
bulging out of his head.  
"What's going on?" Amara screamed. Everyone turned to see Amara and Trowa   
standing there, utterly confused about what they saw.  
"Maxwell showed dishonor towards Nataku! Now I must punish him!" Wufei   
yelled, still struggling in Isis and Shiri's grip.  
"Oh no you don't, Wu-man! Duo did not mean it!" Shiri said, tightening her grip   
on his arm. Duo was still in a trance.  
"Yo! Duo! Hello?! You there?!" Amara said, waving her arms in his face. He   
finally broke the trance and stared at her.  
"Wh-what?" he asked, confusion on his face. Then he saw Wufei, and he   
remembered. He started laughing at the site.  
"Oh my gosh! I-if only you could s-see yourself, Wu-man!" he huffed, laughing   
hysterically. Wufei turned five shades of red, and gritted his teeth.  
"MY NAME IS WUFEI! AND YOU ARE GOING TO DIE MAXWELL!!!" He   
broke free of the girls' grip, throwing them to the ground. They glared at him and started   
chasing him, as he started chasing Duo, who was running faster than ever before now.  
"..." was all that Amara and Trowa could say, as they stood there, huge sweat   
drops on their foreheads. Quatre and Alondra showed up a few minutes later, and they   
knew exactly what had happened. They too sweat dropped, and shook there heads   
disapprovingly. Suddenly, two shots were heard, and everyone paused in place. Duo was   
climbing the wall, and Wufei, Isis, and Shiri weren't far behind. Everyone looked around   
frantically, and found the source of the shots.  
"What is going on here?" Relena asked, tucking her gun away. Heero did the   
same.  
"If anyone should have questions to answer, it's you," Duo growled, jumping   
down. Wufei was back in the girls' grasps, as Duo walked away.  
"Yeah. Duo said you've been missing for a while. Where were you?" Shiri said,   
equally angry. Heero glared, and Relena shook her head.  
"If you must know, we had missions to complete, and they were confidential,"   
Heero explained, joining Quatre and the other three who hadn't been running around.   
Those four just stared at the two.  
"You were missing?" Trowa asked. The others had confusion on their faces too.  
"Yeah. We've been gone for about four days," Relena explained. The others   
looked in disbelief.  
"Huh, and I thought you were just hiding from us," Wufei said, now calmed   
down. Before anyone could continue, a couple of shots were heard, followed by yelling.  
"Stop him! He's entering the hanger!"  
A teenage boy darted down the stares, and passed the group.  
"Hey, isn't that-"  
"Yep, Heero. He's here," Relena said, running after him.  
"Jeremiah, stop! It's Relena!" she screamed. The figure paused on the other set   
of stares, turning back to her.  
"Oh...thank...god," he panted, stumbling down the stares. He fell hitting the   
bottom stare, and started plummeting to the floor, but someone caught him. He looked   
up into the face of a girl with brown hair, tan skin, and brown eyes.  
An angel, he thought, falling into darkness.  
"Angel?" Jade whispered. He didn't realize that he said his thoughts. She picked   
his head up and cradled him.  
"Is he okay?" Relena asked. She bent down as the others gathered to see the   
stranger.  
"He's lost lots of blood, Lena. Look," Jade said, lifting up his shirt, to reveal a   
slash across his side. Blood had seeped through.  
"We need to get him to the medical room quickly. Can you fix him up?" Relena   
asked Jade. She stared at her wide eyed and nodded.  
"Great."  
"Lena, who is this?" Quatre asked. Relena motioned for everyone to follow her.  
"I'll explain everything, but first we need to find the scientists."  
"Sure," Shiri said. Everyone went to the lab, unsure of the new situation.   
  



	11. The Endless Battle

A Normal Life  
By: Jade Starlight  
  
Chapter Ten: The Endless Battle  
  
  
Jeremiah groaned as he struggled to move. When he found that he couldn't, he   
opened his eyes, only to close them tightly again. The bright light was too much, and he   
began to get a headache again. After the headache left, he tried again, only this time he   
slowly opened his eyes, letting them adjust to the light. When he was able to make out   
objects, he found that he was laying on a bed in a small room somewhere. He struggled   
to sit up, and in the process he heard someone turning the doorknob to the room.  
"Well, good evening," a girl said as she walked over to him. She pushed him   
back down, causing him to grumble.  
"Where am I?" he asked, as she began to lift up the covers. He noticed at that   
moment that he had no shirt on, and he shoved her hands away. She smiled at his action,   
and pushed a loose tendril of brown hair behind her ear.  
I've seen her before. She's my angel! Jeremiah thought, staring at her brown   
eyes. When she cleared her throat, he snapped out of it, blushing slightly.  
"Excuse me, but I need to inspect those wounds of yours," she said, moving the   
sheets. He smiled and let her do so, still staring at her beauty.  
"What's your name?" he asked, smiling flirtatiously at her. She blushed a little,   
and walked across the room.  
"Jade. And yours is Jeremiah, is that correct?"  
"Yeah, how'd you know?"  
"Relena told us," she answered simply, grabbing some new bandages. She   
walked back over to him, and began to remove the old ones.  
"Us? Who's us?"  
"Well, there's ten of us. You already know Heero and Relena, and now me, but   
there are still eight others," she explained. She finished with his side, and moved to his   
arm.  
"Sit up please," she commanded, pulling him upright. He obeyed.  
"So, why are so many people here?" he asked. She shook her head slightly.  
"I'm sorry, but that is confidential. The only way you'll find that out is if you talk   
to Relena or Dr. Hino." When he was about to knag on, she quickly changed the subject.   
"So, you wanna tell me how you got these wounds?" she asked.  
"If I do, will you answer my question?" he asked, raising a brow. She frowned,   
and got up to leave.  
"Nope. Come to the kitchen when you're done getting dressed. Everyone else is   
already there. It's across the hall," she said, before shutting the door. He sighed, and   
reluctantly got up.  
"Sure thing, Angel," he whispered.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~```  
Relena paced back and forth as Dr. Hino explained the meaning of this mission to   
her.  
"So when you were both sent there, it was to get Jeremiah Kinsley to come here,"   
he finished. Relena shook her head in dismay, as did Heero.  
"Then why did you need both of us?" Heero asked.  
"Yeah, I mean isn't it more sensible to have just one?" Quatre asked, as he and   
the others listened. They were all seated at a large table, except for Dr. Hino, Relena, and   
Heero, who were standing against the wall.  
"Well, Heero truly was sent to protect Millardo Peacecraft, and Relena was sent   
to lure Jeremiah and part from her past. We felt that it would only disturb her if she held   
on to those two other people she had been."  
"Why Jeremiah?" Shiri asked.  
"Because we knew his father was one of the top ranking pilots in Oz. The best   
actually, before, uh-"  
"Before I killed him," Relena finished, anger in her voice. Dr. Hino slowly shook   
his head.  
"Well, anyway, we also knew that his father trained him at a young age, hardly   
though, but enough. And we were hoping to complete that for him, and add him to the   
team."  
"So everything was a setup," a voice said. Everyone looked at the doorway, to   
find a tall, well built dark red head with piercing emerald green eyes staring at Dr. Hino.  
"Welcome, Jeremiah. How long were you there?"  
"Long enough," he chirped. Everyone stared at him.  
"This is him?" Duo asked. He laughed, and Shiri hit him in the back of the head.  
"Knock it off Duo!" she warned. He rubbed his head and groaned.  
"Ow, that hurt!"  
"Um, Jeremiah, allow me to introduce everyone. This is Duo, Shiri, Trowa, and   
Quatre," Relena said, pointing to each person.  
"Hello," he said. Everyone nodded, as Relena continued.   
"And this is Isis, Wufei, Amara, Alondra, and-"  
"Jade. We already met," he said, smiling at Jade. She smiled back, and Relena   
raised a brow before continuing.  
"So, I'm sure you'd like to know why everyone's here?"  
"Yes, I would," he said, sitting next to Jade. Relena sat across from him.  
"Well, in a nut shell, we're all pilots," she said.  
"I knew about the boys, but why are you girls Gundam pilots?" The boys were   
wide eyed, except Heero, and they listened as the explanations continued.  
"Well, Dr. Hino and the other scientists wanted another team, so we were   
chosen."  
"Okay, but why?"  
"Well that's a good question, actually," Relena said, turning to Dr. Hino. She   
looked at him expectantly, awaiting an answer, as did the others.  
"It's about time I explain things to you all," he said nervously. He began pacing   
back and forth, deciding where to start.   
A couple of hours later, everyone was upset and deep in their thoughts. It was so   
quiet that if a pin was dropped, it would be heard.   
"So, that's it, huh?" Relena said, shock in her voice. Dr. Hino nodded his head   
slowly. Relena shook her head, letting a long sigh escape her lips.   
"Well, what are we going to do about this new rebel group, what was it called   
again?" Isis asked.  
"They call themselves the Independent Citizens of Space, ICS for short."  
"And once again someone wants to destroy the peace we've all worked so hard   
for," Quatre stated, referring to he, the original Gundam Pilots, and Relena.  
"Well, we won't allow them to. We can't," Relena stated. Everyone nodded their  
heads in agreement.  
"What do we do now?" Jeremiah asked.  
"We prepare for war, only now they have to deal with twelve expert Gundam   
pilots, instead of five," Trowa said. Once again everyone silently agreed.   
"Well, I suggest you all get a good night's rest before we begin," Dr. Hino said.  
"Agreed. Let's go to bed, and tomorrow we'll begin to increase our training,"   
Heero said, leaving the room. Everyone else followed in suit, unnaturally quieter than   
usual.  



	12. Preparations, New Pilots, and Upgraded G...

A Normal Life  
By: Jade Starlight  
  
Chapter Eleven: Preparations, New Pilots, and Upgraded Gundams  
  
  
The year is A.C. 196. It has been a little over a year since Relena and the G-boys   
learned of Relena's past, and the rebel group known as the Independent Citizens of   
Space, or ICS. The purpose of the group is to take over the Earth Sphere Unified   
Nations, gaining control over both Earth and the Colonies. Some people have suspected   
the group, but the leaders of ESUN don't believe the group exists, thereby ignoring all   
attempts of warning.   
The scientists and the Gundam teams do, however, know for a fact that the group   
exists, and that they are planning on starting a war with ESUN. To prevent the ICS from   
taking control, the scientists have upgraded Gundams 01-05, and they have also made a   
new Gundam, while the pilots trained hard...  
  
  
Shiri threw a right uppercut, nailing Quatre in the stomach. Well, his padded   
stomach, anyway.  
"Uh," he grunted. "Go a little lighter, okay? You still punch pretty hard," he   
said, holding his stomach.  
"Sorry, QW. I didn't mean it, but if we're gonna get better we can't afford to   
hold back that much."  
"Yeah, I know." He raised his fists, signaling for them to continue. Shiri nodded,   
and she threw the first punch. Quatre blocked it and kicked, but Shiri caught his leg,   
flipping him onto the floor. She went to kick him, but he rolled and flipped onto his feet   
before she knew it. He punched her in the stomach, grabbed her in a headlock, and held   
her there.  
"You give?" he asked. She nodded, and he let her go.  
"Can you teach me that move? It's pretty slick," she said, sitting on the floor.   
Quatre joined her and nodded. They were both out of breath.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Heero and Duo watched as Relena and Wufei fought each other.  
"Woman, you should not have chosen me to spar with today!" Wufei yelled,   
before advancing on Relena. She ducked from his punch, dropping to the floor and   
swiping her leg under Wufei's. He came crashing down, but not before kicking her in the   
side. They both hopped up, facing each other, each having a look of death on them.  
"Why don't we make this more interesting?" Wufei said, glancing at the fencing   
swords hanging on the other side of the room.  
"Sure." They both began sprinting to them, but Dr. Hino, who had just entered   
the room, stopped them.  
"Listen up everyone!" he yelled, moving to the center of the room. The twelve   
teenagers, now sixteen, gathered around him, awaiting his orders.  
"What is it, Dr. Hino?" Jade asked.  
"As you all know, it is very close to the time of battle. We have one week until it   
is June 9, the day that ICS is planning on moving into action."  
"Yeah, and?" Duo asked. Shiri smacked him, and directed her attention back to   
Dr. Hino.  
"As I was saying, we have now successfully upgraded Wing, Deathscythe,   
Heavyarms, Sandrock, and Altron."  
"Nataku," Wufei corrected. Isis slapped him in the back of the head, and he   
glared at her. "Woman, do NOT hit me!" he yelled. She smiled at him, and turned to   
Shiri.  
"You're right, it does work!" Duo and Wufei nearly burst.  
"What is that supposed to mean?!" they said together. Before anyone could   
continue, Dr. Hino was tapping his foot and clearing his throat.  
"As I was saying, I would like to show you the upgraded versions. Follow me."   
Everyone marched behind him, making his or her way to the hanger.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Heero nearly smiled when he saw his Gundam. It looked the same, but he could   
see a few extra toys added on. There were compartments in the legs, and he could see   
something was different about the fingers and the eyes.  
"Yes Heero, you do have extras added on," Dr. Hino said, standing next to him.   
"We've added lasers to the fingers and eyes, as well as some grenades in the legs."  
"Dr. Hino, what about mine?" Duo yelled, standing where his was. Dr. Hino   
laughed when he saw how eager Duo was.  
"Well, we added a beam saber, and something called beam horns."  
"Beam horns?"  
"Yes. Basically they're large daggers made of electrical power. They will slice   
right through any type of metal, including Gundanium Alloy."  
"Yes! Is that-OW!!! Will you please stop hitting me!" Duo screamed at Shiri.   
She just smiled sweetly.  
"Who? Little old me?" She laughed when Duo glared at her, and then she joined   
Relena, who was looking at her Gundam.  
"Dr. Hino, have you changed mine and Quatre's as well?" Trowa asked. Dr. Hino   
ushered them on to their Gundams.  
"I have installed jets on the back of Sandrock, and also a beam saber. Heavyarms   
is now equipped with a laser gun and some extra grenades."  
"What does Nataku have?" Wufei asked.  
"I added a dragon beam gun to yours."  
"What's that exactly?"  
"A beam gun that is similar to Heero's, but yours shoots dragon tails, or large   
beam 'bullets,'" Dr. Hino explained. While everyone inspected their Gundams, an urgent   
message came in.  
"Dr. Hino! Report to the control room immediately!" Dr. J's frantic voice   
commanded over the intercom. Dr. Hino raced out as quickly as possible.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Dr. J paced back and forth, awaiting the fax that was still coming through. Dr.   
Hino burst through the door.  
"What...is...it?" he huffed. Dr. J handed him the finished fax. Dr. Hino turned   
pale when he read it, and he headed back towards the hanger.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
"Whoa, I wonder what that was about?" Relena said after Dr. Hino disappeared.  
"Dr. J sounded pretty freaked out to me," Duo said.   
"Yeah he did. I hope nothing bad happened," Shiri said.  
"Well I think that maybe it's the ICS striking early," Alondra commented. She   
turned to Relena. "What do you think? Relena?" she waved an arm in front of her face.   
Relena snapped out of it.  
"Sorry, what were you saying?"  
"I was saying that-" Alondra stopped when she saw Dr. Hino enter the room. His   
face had disaster written all over it. Everyone else stopped chatting, and awaited Dr.   
Hino's words.   
"Relena, can I speak to you privately?"  
"Whatever you have to say, you can say in front of my friends," she said. He   
handed her a piece of paper. It read:  
  
  
From: Peacecraft, Cinq Kingdom  
Time: 1:44 P.M.   
Date: June 2  
To ESUN:  
Cinq Kingdom under attack. Unknown enemy with Mobile suits and dolls.   
Capital nearly destroyed. Millardo Peacecraft missing, maybe dead. Attacks not let up.   
Send help as soon as possible.  
Lucrezia Noin, protection General and wife of Millardo Peacecraft.  
  
  
Relena's hands shook as she read the message. Her face turned pale, and she fell   
to the floor, tears beginning to flow.  
"I'm so sorry Relena. I didn't know," Dr. Hino whispered. Heero took the paper   
and knelt next to Relena. He read it out loud, and everyone was in total shock. They all   
felt sorry for Relena.  
"Relena, it'll be fine. Get up now, please," Heero whispered. She slowly rose,   
and turned to everyone, hiding her eyes.  
"Relena, what are we going to do?" Jeremiah asked. Relena rose her head and   
faced everyone, striking fear into them. Her eyes were blazing with anger, guilt, and the   
desire to kill.  
"We're going into battle," she replied angrily. That made everyone more nervous   
because she had never used such a dangerous tone of voice before.  
Looks like they hit home, Jade thought. And now it's time to fight!  
  



	13. On to Battle!

A Normal Life  
By: Jade Starlight  
  
Chapter Twelve: On to Battle!  
  
  
Relena paced back and forth in the conference room at the base, awaiting Dr.   
Hino's word to go. Heero, Duo, and Quatre watched her while seated on a red couch.   
Trowa and Alondra were leaning against the wall, each in thought. Isis and Jade were   
silently watching Relena, as was Amara, Wufei, and Jeremiah, who were sitting on the   
floor.  
"Wow, I've never seen Lena this upset before," Quatre whispered.  
"Well, what did you expect? They've attacked her home Quatre. She's going   
through a difficult situation right now. Besides, it doesn't help that her bro might be   
dead," Duo commented. Quatre nodded his head in agreement.  
"What do you think Heero? Heero?" He was just eying Relena as she paced back   
and forth, all emotions being pushed down.  
"Sorry, what did you ask?"  
"Nothing Heero," Quatre said. The three of them got wrapped up in there own   
thoughts.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Relena continued pacing, feeling everyone's eyes on her.  
Don't worry guys, she thought, I'm fine. I just have to destroy the ICS before they   
ruin anyone else's life. She continued pacing until she heard a door. Like lightning she   
was at Dr. Hino's side.  
"Well, is it a green light?" she asked eagerly.  
"Yes. Everyone's Gundams are ready now. Even Jeremiah's." Dr. Hino placed   
his hands on her shoulders. "Be careful, and don't do anything stupid."  
"Don't worry, I'll be as sane as I can." She smiled at him before leaving the   
room.  
"Um, Dr. Hino, can I see my Gundam?" Jeremiah asked. He nodded, leading   
Jeremiah to the hanger. Jade went with, while the others followed Relena.  
Jeremiah's eyes nearly popped out of his head. Resting before him was a silver   
and dark blue Gundam.  
"It's called Phantom Wing. It's equipped with a beam staff, laser eyes, a beam   
cannon, and a beam machine gun. It has a cloak like Deathscythe Hell that enables it to   
hide from enemies until the last second."  
"Awesome!" Jeremiah took in the newest addition to the team. The large   
Gundam had wings like Wing Zero, only his were black with silver tips.   
"Well, I guess you're happy," Jade said, interrupting his thoughts. He smiled   
happily as she inspected it.  
"Do you think I can handle it?"  
"Of course. The way we've been training, there's no possible way you couldn't."   
Jade began walking out of the hanger, but she stopped when she heard Jeremiah running   
to catch up.  
"Hey Jade, what should I get?"  
"Some guns and ammo. And possibly a dagger."  
"A dagger? For what?"  
"Just do as I say. Now we'd better hurry before everyone grows too impatient."   
Jeremiah followed her to the weapons department of the base, each planning their own   
strategies.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Relena just sat at the base of her Gundam, pondering the first step of her plan. As   
she stared at the floor, she heard something in Dammi.  
"I know Dammi. I shouldn't bring the others into my personal problems, but they   
won't let me keep them away." She sighed exasperatingly.   
Especially Heero! He insists on sticking by my side, and that's not what I want!   
She shook her head and smirked at the irony. Ever since the day she saw him, she   
wouldn't leave Heero and desperately wanted him to be with her. And now she wants   
him to stay away.  
"Pretty ironic really," she said to herself.  
"What is?" Heero asked, coming out from behind her Gundam. Relena jumped,   
and started to laugh at herself.  
"You know, I do believe that's the first time in a year you've snuck up on me,"   
she said, climbing to her feet. Heero grabbed her hand and hoisted her up. He smiled at   
her statement.  
"Looks like I can still have the upper hand then," he said. Then his faced turned   
back to normal as he continued. "Relena, are you sure about this? I mean, he may be   
gone, and if that's true, there's no telling what ICS wants."  
"That's easy enough, me." Relena walked over to her duffle bag on the floor and   
picked it up. Heero thought about this for a moment, and then he realized her meaning.  
"You're saying that their real goal may be you, and not your brother."  
"Not maybe, I am. You see, my brother wasn't the one attempting to bring peace   
without fighting. Nor was he the one trying to convince Romafeller and OZ to change.   
The leader of ICS, whomever it may be, sees that I am the cause, and wants me dead."  
"And you know all this how?"  
"I did a little homework not too long after we learned of them. And ever since,   
I've tracked everything from them." She stopped talking and looked down, hiding her   
eyes. When she spoke, her voice quivered with fear and guilt. "But I didn't learn of the   
planned attack on Sank." She punched the side of her Gundam's leg as hard as possible   
for her, sending a ring throughout the hanger.  
Relena, it's not your fault! Heero embraced her as the dam opened, and tears   
streamed down her face.  
"This is not your fault, Relena. You never could have known, even if you tried,   
so do not blame yourself!" Relena calmed down a little, and shook her in disagreement.  
"I could've prevented this, but I didn't!" They heard footsteps running through   
the doors of the hanger, and they knew everyone was coming. "That doesn't matter   
anymore though, because now I'm going to set things right, for me, my brother, and the   
ESUN." She wiped her tears away, and calmed herself just as the other nine teens   
gathered around them. All traces of her feelings were gone. Heero knew not to press,   
and he too put on his game face, the usual stoic stare.  
"Alright, is everyone ready?" Relena asked, her instincts taking charge.  
"Roger that Lena," Shiri said. Relena nodded her approvement  
"You have your equipment then?"  
"Yes ma'am, we sure do!" Duo replied, his voice filled with anxiousness. He   
jumped up and down like a toddler. "Can we go fight now?! Please?!" he said.  
"Yes. Let's go," Relena said. Everyone scattered to their Gundams, and loaded   
into the cockpits. Relena was the first to be ready, and she turned her communications   
line on, awaiting Dr. Hino's orders.  
"Now Relena, remember the stats on ICS. They prove to be quite a challenge, so   
be careful. I am going to upload the information on ICS into everyone's Gundams. You   
can review that on your trip."  
"Roger that Dr. Hino. And thank you," Relena said. She flipped the line over to   
Cupid's line. Jade appeared.  
"All set over here Lena. I'm ready when you are," the Spanish girl said.  
"Okay Jade, stand by for take off." She flipped over to Moonbeam's line. "Isis,   
you ready?"  
"Yeah boss. Standing by for flight right now. Over and out." Next was Flame.  
"Shiri here, ready to rock and roll!" the blonde American said. Relena actually   
smiled at this. She hangs around Duo too much. Relena thought. She flipped to Mercury, and   
saw her blue haired friend.  
"You ready Amara?"  
"Yep, ready to lift off." Relena nodded and flipped to the last one, Twister.  
"Alondra here, standing by. It's a green light for me," the short-haired girl   
reported.  
"I copy Alondra. Await countdown." Relena flipped to Wing Zero's line,   
awaiting Heero's signal.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
"Alright buddy, I'm ready to fly!" Duo exclaimed. Heero nodded and flipped to   
Sandrock.  
"Quatre here, awaiting the countdown," the blonde pilot said. Heero flipped over   
to Heavyarms and Altron.  
"Wufei Chang, awaiting orders," the Chinese pilot said.   
"Trowa here, ready for action." Heero flipped to Phantom Wing, the last one.  
"Jeremiah reporting. I'm ready when you are." Heero turned the com over to   
Dammi, and Relena's face appeared.  
Relena saw Heero's face on her screen. He softened up at the site of her face.  
"Relena, everyone's awaiting the countdown. Are you ready?"   
"Yes Heero, I am." Relena knew what he was really asking. Was she ready to   
fight and go against everything she believed in? He knew there was no turning back once   
they left, and so did she. She came out of her thoughts and focused on the present task.  
"Lift off in 5...4...3...2...1...0...go!" Relena finished her directions, and everyone   
took off, heading into the sky.  
"Good luck," Dr. Hino whispered. "You'll need it."   



	14. The Fallen Sank Kingdom...Again!

A Normal Life  
By: Jade Starlight  
  
Chapter Thirteen: The Fallen Sank Kingdom...Again!  
  
  
Relena awoke to the sound of someone's voice. She opened her eyes to see   
Jade's face on the screen.  
"Relena, we're here."   
"Already? Okay, hold on and I'll check it out. Is everyone online with me?" The   
others answered with a 'Yeah' or a 'Yes.' She turned the screen on so she could see her   
home below her.  
Or what's left of it! She felt her eyes fill with tears when she saw the horrible site   
that used to be her beautiful home. There were buildings completely wiped out, trees   
down, and what used to be her school was half standing.  
"Oh my gosh," she whispered in astonishment. Heero's voice brought her back to   
reality.  
"Relena, look to your left." She did as he said, and as soon as she did, she fully   
regretted it. Heero had directed her to see what was her brother's house. She almost   
started wailing when Dammi reminded her of her mission.  
"Alright everyone, you know your positions. Let's do it."  
"You got it Lena. And don't worry, we'll have sweet revenge, or I'm not   
Shinigami!" Relena smiled faintly at that, and almost burst out laughing when she heard   
Shiri telling him to shut it and move.  
"Relena, are you sure about this?" Heero asked as they flew their Gundams to the   
intended area.  
"Yes I am. It is time for me to protect my people and find my brother and Noin,   
if it's the last thing I do."  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Jade, Alondra, Trowa, and Quatre hid their Gundams in the mountains   
surrounding New Port City. They gathered together, weapons in their duffle bags, ready   
to go.  
"Now, where are we going again?" Quatre asked.  
"We will be stationed at the school. Our job is to get any remaining refugees out   
of here before we fight. Duo, Jeremiah, Isis, and Amara will be stationed at the   
Diplomats' building. Heero and Relena are going to Millardo's house, or what's left of it   
at least. Shiri and Wufei will be waiting for us near the sea. Relena said that there are   
some protective caves there that the remaining survivors can hide in. Let's just hope that   
it hasn't been discovered by the ICS," Jade said.  
"Well, enough chit-chat. We better go before we're late." Trowa led the way into   
the western part of the city.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Duo crept around the side of the building, signaling to the group that it was clear.  
"Well, so far so good, but how will we get in?" Jeremiah asked.  
"Well, I was thinking-"  
"Hey guys, let's go," Amara whispered. They two boys whirled around in time to   
see her disappear into a window on the first story. They shrugged and followed the two   
girls.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Relena followed silently behind Heero, who was ushering for her to stop. They   
were near the front door of the house. He slowly opened it, to find the room surprisingly   
in tact for the most part. The only thing that was out of place was a few ceiling boards,   
and the furniture looked a little burnt.  
"I don't like this, Heero. Something's not right," Relena whispered. He nodded   
in agreement, and they continued searching the house in silence, keeping an eye out for   
anything suspicious.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Shiri silently sat down on the edge of the cliff, overlooking the raging waters   
below. It had already been three hours, and no one had shown up yet. She glanced up at   
the sky, watching the sun slowly sink down to the horizon.  
I hope everyone is okay, she thought. It's not like them to be so long. She sighed   
heavily, slowly climbing to her feet. A sudden gust of wind blew her long, golden tresses   
away from her face, as she wrapped her arms around herself, pulling her blue jean jacket   
closer to her body.  
"They're fine," Wufei said, as he joined her at the edge. She just held her gaze on   
the now darkened sky, spying the stars.  
"I hope you're right, Wufei, for their sake, and ours."  
"You have nothing to worry about. Everyone is fine. They know what they're   
doing." He was now gazing at the stars as well.  
"I know, I know." She sighed again, and Wufei took note of this.  
"That braided baka will be fine as well," he said, noticing the change of   
expression on her face. "He's a good person, and he knows what he's doing. But if you   
ever tell him that, I'll-"  
Shiri noticed Wufei's abrupt stop, and she turned to meet his face.  
"Wufei, what is it?" she asked, worry in her voice. He pointed to the sea, and she   
followed his direction.   
"We'd better go, now," he said, taking off up the cliffside. Shiri's jaw dropped,   
and then she came to her senses.  
"Oh shit! WUFEI, WAIT!!!" she screamed loudly. She glanced back at the site,   
and hurried to the rope that ascended the cliff.  
They'd better hurry! I'm not sure Wufei and I can hold off those suits very long!  
She quickly climbed the rope, trying to catch up with Wufei. Silently, she began to pray.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
"I think I see the cliff over there," Jade said, pointing to a clearing. Just beyond it   
was what appeared to be a cliff. She held the toddler in her arms as she lead another   
child with her. Quatre followed, carrying a small child as well. A couple of more   
children who looked to be about ten and twelve trailed behind him.  
"I think you're right, Jade." Alondra turned around, facing the group of refugees   
who were following. Including the kids each of the four pilots had, as well as the ten   
adults with their kids, there were about twenty-five in all.  
"Everyone, this way please! Keep close and quiet! And follow us!" Alondra and   
Trowa headed to the front of the group, each carrying a child of their own. They set the   
children down with Quatre and Jade.  
"We're going to guard the back of the group," Trowa said. Quatre nodded, and   
the two pilots immediately raced to the back of the group.  
"Is that Wufei I see?" Jade asked as she stopped in her tracks. Quatre strained his   
eyes to see in the dark, and he smiled at what he saw. Before them were two Gundams,   
Altron and Flame.  
"Wufei! Shiri! We need help!" Jade began to wave wildly as she quickened her   
pace. Quatre eagerly followed, waving the group on.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Duo and Jeremiah once again found themselves at the head of the little group.   
They crept along, approaching some stairs.  
"Do we go up?" he half whispered to the other three.  
"I don't think that's a good idea Duo. The rest of the place was burned pretty   
badly. What if the stairs give way to our weight?" Isis said.  
"Amara, do you agree?" he asked. She shook her head. "Jeremiah?"  
"I agree."  
"Fine then, suit yourselves. Amara, after you?" He stepped aside, allowing her to   
go first.  
"And what do we do?" Jeremiah asked.  
"I don't know. Keep watch for soldiers," Duo said, before following Amara.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Isis leaned against the wall, falling into a daze. It has been twenty minutes, and   
Duo and Amara still weren't back yet.  
"Hey, Isis, why are we just sitting here again?"  
"Because we already searched for survivors here, and there were none. They're   
up there looking for survivors or injured people."  
"Okay." Jeremiah began tapping his fingers against the floor. He was sitting in   
front of Isis, his legs crossed Indian style. They both stared off into space, a far away   
look in both of their eyes.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Duo and Amara began to make their way back down the stairs. Isis jumped up   
when she heard the noise.  
"Did you find anyone?"  
"No, I'm afraid not. They really wiped the place out," Duo answered sadly. He   
took another step and heard a funny creak in the stairs. Slowly he turned to Amara.  
"Don't move, or we're gonners," he breathed. Her eyes widened in alarm as she   
stood completely still.  
"Um, okay, don't panic guys. Just slowly, slowly, take one step at a time,"   
Jeremiah ordered. The couple did, and before they knew it, the stairs began crashing   
down, taking Duo and Amara with.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Relena and Heero were still inspecting her brother's house. They were now up   
the stairs and in his room. It was dark, so they couldn't see all that well. Relena lit a   
candle she found on her way up.  
"Do you see any-" Relena stopped talking, her breath forming a lump in her   
throat.  
"Relena, what is it?" Heero asked when he noticed she wasn't talking.  
"Millardo! Oh God no!" Relena darted over to his bed, kneeling down next to it.   
She started to sob on her brother's bloody form.  
"Relena," Heero said quietly. She stood up slowly, wiping tears from her eyes.   
Heero, in the meantime, inspected the bruised and tattered body of her brother. Millardo   
was pale from the blood loss he received from the cuts on his arms and legs, and the   
gashes on his torso. He was unconscious for now.  
"We must get him help right away, or he'll die!" Relena yelled frantically. Heero   
walked over to her, and embraced her.  
"Relena, he will not die. Zechs is too strong to give up easily. Shh, don't worry,   
it'll be fine," he cooed, attempting to calm her. She continued to sob, as she relaxed   
herself.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Noin heard crying as she became conscious again. She went to stand up, and   
immediately she fell, feeling a sharp pain shoot through her ankle. Stubbornly, she tried   
again, this time leaning on her left side. Only one eye was open, because the other was   
swollen. She could feel a broken rib or two, and bruises up and down her body.   
Painfully she made her way out of Relena's old room, and approached Millardo's.  
I know those voices. It's Heero and Relena. She made it two steps in the door   
before Relena and Heero heard her. They both turned to see the commotion, and Noin   
saw Relena's face turn even whiter than it was.  
"Hello, Relena," she breathed, before falling towards the ground. The last thing   
she remembered before the darkness was Relena's arms enveloping her before she hit the   
ground.  



	15. ICS Soldiers At Last!

A Normal Life  
By: Jade Starlight  
  
Chapter Fourteen: ICS Soldiers At Last!  
  
  
Duo's instincts kicked in and immediately he grabbed Amara around the waste   
and jumped over the side of the stairs as high and as far as he could. He landed on the   
ground with a thud! Hitting his head hard.   
"Damn! That smarts!" he yelled as he felt for Amara. When he didn't feel her   
body, he forced his eyes to open, despite the pain that was shooting through his head. He   
looked over, and about three feet away was Amara's form, lying completely still.  
That can't be good, he thought, sitting up. He winced at the pain coursing   
through his side as well. Slowly making his way to Amara, he almost forgot about   
Jeremiah and Isis, but when he looked behind him, he cursed again. The stairs gave way,   
as well as the top floor they were on moments ago.  
"Oh, my head," a hoarse voice said. Amara was waking up, and rubbing her   
forehead.   
"Amara, you okay?" Duo slid next to her and helped her sit up.  
"Yeah, I'll be-OUCH!" She winced in tremendous pain as she looked at her   
ankle.  
"What is it?"  
"I think my ankle's twisted severely. It hurts like hell!"  
"Can you walk?"  
"Yeah, why?" Duo climbed to his feet, ignoring the shots of pain in his head and   
side. He grabbed one of Amara's arms and helped her up as well.  
"We have to find Jeremiah and Isis. Look," he pointed to the spot they dove   
from.  
"Uh oh, we'd better hurry!" Duo nodded, and they began searching for another   
way out.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Wufei, Jade, Quatre, and Alondra were in their Gundams, heading towards the   
mobile suits.   
"Alright, this is the plan. Wufei and I will take those on the left, while Quatre and   
Alondra take those on the right. Under no circumstances are you to let any past you,   
understand?" Jade instructed.  
"Who made you the leader?" Wufei barked.  
"I did, now move out!" Altron and Cupid parted with Twister and Sandrock.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Relena and Heero brought Noin to lie next to Millardo on the bed. Relena   
caressed her brother's hand, and Noin's as well.  
"Relena, we have to get them out of here before any soldiers come," Heero said.   
Relena nodded silently in agreement.  
"But how?"   
"I saw a van that appeared to be usable about a block from here. I'll get it and   
come for you three. In the meantime, you stand watch." Heero headed to the door,   
determination in his eyes.  
"Heero?"  
"Hm?"  
"Try to come back in one piece, okay?" she smirked. He gave her a genuine   
smile before disappearing into the night. Relena sat on the floor, gun in hand, praying for   
everything to be all right.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Trowa and Shiri quickly ushered the survivors into the caves, keeping them out of   
site of the battle.  
"Trowa, we should be out there, helping!" Shiri argued for the hundredth time.  
"Shiri, we were ordered to remain here until further instructions. We must wait   
for Duo, Isis, Jeremiah, Amara, Relena, and Heero before we do another thing," he told   
her for the hundredth time.  
"Fine, but I do not like this! There's way too many of those suits for those four!"  
"They can hold off for a while," he said. Shiri saw the look in his eyes, and she   
shut her mouth, understanding that there was no way for her to win the argument. She   
knew it.  
"Fine," she huffed. "I'll park it over here and keep watch for any soldiers." She   
sat on a boulder and crossed her arms, looking at the cave entrance and watching the   
battle.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Isis woke up with a throbbing head. As her sight came into focus, she saw the   
huge mess, and also the fact that she and Jeremiah were sealed on this side by the debris.  
Jeremiah! Oh no, where is he? She quickly stood up, ignoring the pain her head   
was experiencing, and tried to concentrate on him.  
"Jeremiah? Are you there?" she called, looking around the dark room. Again a   
throb came from her forehead, but she ignored it.  
"Isis, is that you yelling?" a groggy voice said. She searched for the person, and   
saw the silhouette of someone lying on the ground five feet to her right. She ran to the   
figure.  
"Jeremiah, are you okay?" she asked, helping him sit upright. He nodded in   
reply, and winced when she tried helping him up.  
"What is it?"   
"My arm. I think it's broken," he said. She walked around him to his other arm   
and grabbed it, pulling him to his feet.  
"Do you know where Duo is? What, what is it?" she asked when he stared at her   
face. His eyes were bulging as he stuttered.  
"Y-Your forehead. I-it's bleeding badly." She touched it and felt a huge gash   
from one side to the other. She also noticed the blood trailing down her face.  
"We don't have time to mess with that. We've got a mission remember?"  
"Yeah, but that doesn't mean ignore your own health. Hold on." He grabbed a   
torn part of his shirt and ripped a huge strip off, handing it to her. She took it with   
agitation on her face and tied it around her head to stop the bleeding.   
"There, now lets find a way out so we can meet up with Amara and Duo." The   
two teens left the hallway in search of a way out.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
"Sir, should we move in on them now?"  
"No, Jake. We'll wait and see where they're all hiding. Then we attack," the   
older man with dark red hair and blazing green eyes commanded. He smiled evilly,   
snickering as well.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Relena tensed up when she heard footsteps on the stairs. Slowly she climbed to   
her feet, sinking into the shadows near the doorway. As she waited, gun in hand, she   
could hear them getting closer.   
Here they come in three, two, one... She darted the gun up, pointing it at the   
figure. Her Cerulean blue eyes met violet.  
"Whoa Lena, chill. It's just me," Duo said. She sighed with relief, putting the   
gun into the waste of her pants.  
"What happened? Where are Isis and Jeremiah?"  
"We had an accident at the Democrat's. The floor and ceiling gave way, and we   
were separated. We looked for them Lena, but they were nowhere to be found," Amara   
explained. She limped into the room, heading for the bed.  
"So you don't know what happened to them at all?" Relena asked calmly. Duo   
shook his head, walking slowly to the bed. His eyes grew wide as he saw the two forms.  
"Oh Relena, I'm sorry," Amara whispered. She turned to face Relena.  
"Don't worry, they'll be fine," she replied all too calmly. Duo knew it was an act,   
and that inside she was probably blaming herself for this mess.  
"Relena," Amara started again, but stopped when she saw a figure standing in the   
doorway, gun raised.  
"No one move, or you'll die," the voice commanded. All they did was freeze.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Isis inspected the intruders and sighed.  
"Sorry guys, I couldn't tell who your were with it being so dark," she said,   
tucking away her gun. She disappeared from the doorway for a few moments, and then   
came back with Jeremiah on her, using her body for support.  
"Jeremiah, are you alright?" Relena asked as she helped get him over to the bed.   
He eased himself onto it, careful not to disturb the other two who were already occupying   
it. He brushed his red bangs away as he inspected his wounds.  
"Man are we ever glad to see ya! We thought you'd gotten taken or something!"   
Duo exclaimed. He saw the blood soaked material wrapped around Isis's forehead.  
"What happened?" Amara asked, beating Duo to the punch. Isis shrugged.  
"I have a big gash across my forehead, that's all. It's not like I'll die or   
anything."  
"Yeah, you've had worse," Amara said, smiling. Relena, in the meantime, was   
helping Jeremiah with his arm. She tore some curtains down and used it as a spring for   
him. Then she looked at his ankle, which was huge.  
"Looks like you may have broken your ankle, or at least pulled tendons," she said.   
He smiled meekly.  
"Oh well, at least I'm alive."  
"That's for sure," a voice said. Everyone whirled around to see Heero in the   
room. He had a bag in his left hand, and a gun in his right.  
"Got the van?" Relena asked. When he nodded, she started giving orders.  
"Duo and Isis, grab Noin. Heero and I will get Millardo, while Jeremiah and   
Amara support each other and take the bag and gun."  
"Yes ma'am," Duo gave a mock salute and smiled. Relena smirked and shook   
her head. Then they all prepared for the task they each had, and they went to work.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   
Trowa heard what sounded like a vehicle of some sort approaching he cliff's   
ledge above the hidden caves. Shiri must have as well, because when he searched for   
her, she was nowhere to be seen. Sighing heavily, he told one of the civilians to stay put   
and he'd be back in a little while. Then he went to the rope and began climbing up,   
certain that's where she had gone.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Shiri's baby blue eyes searched frantically for the sound. When she saw the black   
van, she ducked behind a large bush to her right. She pulled her gun out and crouched   
low, awaiting the scene of the passengers in the van.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Duo practically jumped out of the van, glad that they were finally there. He   
almost forgot about his broken rib until that moment. Wincing, he opened the back,   
exposing a still unconscious Zechs and a coming to Noin.  
"Hey Lena, Noin's comin' back!" he yelled. Then he gently lifted Noin upright,   
as she slowly gained her vision. When she saw the goofy smile of a braided pilot, she   
smiled faintly.  
"Hey Duo," she whispered.  
"Hello Noin. Did ya sleep well?" he asked. She smiled again. Relena appeared   
behind Duo with a small duffle bag that looked to be packed full.  
"Noin, are you okay? Do you feel anything broken? Any cuts?" the former   
princess asked. Noin smiled.  
"Look who suddenly became doctor," she said. Relena smiled as she and Duo   
helped Noin out of the van. When Noin put pressure on her right ankle, she began to fall.   
Luckily Relena and Duo were there to stop her.  
"Sit down Noin. Heero will have a look at that," Relena commanded. Noin did   
as she was told as Heero kneeled to inspect it. Noin's ankle was swelled the size of a   
softball, and a large bruise was forming.  
"It's not broken, but it looks like you pulled some tendons. We need to wrap it at   
least."  
"Okay Heero, go ahead," Relena said handing him some medical wrap. He raised   
a brow before getting to work.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Shiri couldn't quite make out the figures from the van, but by the looks of it there   
were at least four. Quietly, she army crawled to the van, unnoticed by its occupants. She   
made her way to the side and snuck around to the end. On the count of three she jumped   
out, gun raised at a head.  
"Don't move, or I'll have no choice but to shoot," she growled. The other   
occupants were completely still, but the one whom she was pointing the gun at turned   
slowly.  
"Hey Shiri!" Duo chirped. He flashed her a lop sided grin. Her eyes went wide   
as she lowered the gun. Before she could think, she was hugging Duo fiercely around his   
neck.  
"Duo! I'm so glad you're okay! I thought something happened!" A tear fell as   
she whispered this. She felt his body shudder, and she immediately let go.  
"Well, nothing big did, but we-Hey, what are you doing?" He watched as she   
lifted up his black shirt, exposing his side. She saw a huge bruise across a rib.  
"You're hurt," she said.  
"It's nothing big, just a broken rib or two, that's all."  
"I don't care, you need to take it easy Duo." Before they could continue, a throat   
was being cleared. Shiri looked to her left and saw a head poking out of a window.  
"Um, if you don't mind, we'd like to get out now," Isis said.   
"No problem. Actually, we'd better get going. We have company," Trowa said,   
appearing from behind Relena. Everyone jumped, except for Relena and Heero, who   
heard him a while back.  
"Where?"   
"There," he said, pointing up. Sure enough, there were about a hundred more   
mobile suits coming through the air, heading for the four Gundams that were already   
there.  
"We need to move, now," Relena barked. Everyone nodded, and started heading   
for the rope. Relena stopped, a smirk on her face.  
"What's so funny, Relena?" Trowa asked. She shook her head.  
"Oh nothing. It's just amusing that you climbed a rope instead of using the   
stairwell."  
"What stairwell?" Shiri asked. Relena walked over to the bush Shiri was behind   
before and dropped to her stomach. She reached under it and felt around for a small   
control device. Her hand brushed it and she pushed a button. The sounds of cement   
scraping together were heard, and a hole in the ground appeared in front of the bush.   
Relena stood brushing her hands and clothes off. Everyone stared in bewilderment.   
Relena smiled before entering the stairway that descended downward.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
"Good, we've found them. You seven, return to your suits and go join the battle.  
The rest, come with me." A red haired man and five soldiers walked to the place the   
unexpecting teens had just entered. He smiled evilly.  
Soon my son, you will be with me, and not with that Pacifist brat!  



	16. Fight, Fight, Fight...Again!

A Normal Life  
By: Jade Starlight  
  
Author's Note: I am SO Sorry it's taking so long to finish! This actually turned out to be going   
A LOT longer than I originally intended. I promise I will try to wrap it up ASAP! I'm working   
on the last couple of chapters as I type, so hopefully they'll be out in the next two weeks.   
yeah, can some of you guys who read this please, PLEASE let me know what you think!  
I'm begging you! *Gets down on knees and clasps hands together * Okay, I'm done! Now, on with   
the story...  
  
  
Chapter Fifteen: Fight, Fight, Fight...Again  
  
  
Relena paced back and forth, trying to decide what to do. Do I stay with   
Millardo, or go and fight? She desperately wanted to stay and try and help, but if she   
didn't join the fight, then they might lose!  
"Relena, go with them. I can see that you're trying to decide whether or not to   
stay, but I insist that you go as soon as possible. Quatre and the others need you," Noin   
said, smiling. Relena returned the smile, which she hadn't done in a while.  
"I know Noin, but what if something happens? We hardly know anything about   
these ICS guys, and what if they have some secret weapon and-"  
"Whoa Relena, slow done. We will be fine. You need to go, now."  
"But Noin-"  
"Relena, if you don't go I'll tell Millardo all about you-know-who, and I know he   
won't like it," she threatened. Relena turned ghost white.  
"You wouldn't! You promised!"  
"I would, Relena, only if you stay." Relena sighed, her shoulders dropping. If   
Millardo knew about Heero, he'd go nuts!   
"Fine, I'm going, but first, here." Relena gave her two guns. "The other's for   
him when he awakens." With that, she ran out of the cave to meet the others, who were   
already waiting up top on the cliff.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Heero, Trowa, Duo, Isis, Jeremiah, Amara, and Shiri were waiting for Relena on   
the cliff. They watched the battle going on out over the ocean, and at the same time   
looked for any other reinforcements that may have come.  
"Man, check out Cupid! Those thermal beam halos kick ass!" Duo said.   
Cupid, the white, dark purple, and dark magenta colored Gundam, was battling   
fifty suits at once. Some were the old Aries prototypes, but most were upgraded versions   
of the Taurus's. Cupid's Halos were slicing through suits like butter. The Taurus's   
would charge, but the huge, silver, bird-like wings swept her away at the last minute, and   
then it swooped around and destroyed the suits with the buster rifle or halos.  
Twister, on the other hand, wasn't doing as well. The silver, gray, and black   
Gundam was surrounded by tons of mobile suits, all attacking at once. Twister held the   
buster shield out, blocking most of the attacks, but some still got it. Then, the thrusters   
were fired, and up went twister, almost out of sight. Unfortunately, the suits followed.  
"It looks like Alondra's gonna give them a run for their lives!" Shiri said. Heero   
observed the fight, but soon he heard footsteps, and turned to the right.  
"Relena?" he asked, pulling her up. She smiled faintly.  
"Are we ready to go here?" she asked. Everyone directed their attention to the   
former Princess.  
"Yep, just waiting for you," Isis said. Relena nodded to Jeremiah and Isis.  
"Are you two gonna make it? Can you still pilot your Gundams?"  
"Yep."  
"Sure can. We going?" Jeremiah asked. Relena was about to answer, and then an   
explosion directed her mind elsewhere. She turned, along with everyone else, to the sea,   
and her jaw fell open.  
"We'd better hurry, before it's too late," Heero said, as he started walking towards   
the forest. The others followed, and soon they were all jogging, trying to reach their   
hiding spots. Behind them they heard the sounds of about two hundred more suits   
approaching the shore.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Quatre yelled as he was blasted in the back by another suit. He spun around in   
Sandrock, and fear enveloped him. The ICS had tons of back up!  
"Alondra, watch it! They've got backups!" he transmitted. The light brown   
haired French girl appeared on the upper part of his screen.  
"Roger that Quatre, but we have to continue!" She grunted as she was hit.  
"I know Alondra. We can't give up, even if it means our lives." The two   
courageous teens continued, becoming more outnumbered by the second.  
"Injustice! They are cowards for sending backups that outnumber us a thousand   
to one!" Wufei screamed as he shot at a few suits.  
"Wufei, keep trying! We can not allow them to pass us, or the Sank Kingdom   
will be gone!" Jade yelled. She used her beam halos to slice through more suits. A   
blasted knocked her through the air, sending her flying far away from her partner.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Wing Zero appeared practically out of thin air, catching Cupid in time, before it   
landed right in the middle of firing range for the enemy.  
"Thanks Heero. I owe you one," Jade said. Heero appeared on the upper left of   
her screen.  
"Don't mention it. Now move!" With that, Wing Zero flew past her and into the   
battle, attacking with its beam saber. Cupid followed, and spotted the others' Gundams   
fighting at least twelve each.   
"Hey all! Ready for a showdown?"  
"You bet, Jade! Ye haw!" Duo yelled as Deathscythe Hell zoomed into the   
middle of suits. Taking out the double beam scythe, Duo sliced through five suits with   
no problem.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Relena was panting hard. She was up front, at the battle lines. Ten suits were   
moving in fast. She slightly panicked, but it was replaced quickly with determination.   
She activated her crown disks and sent the four of them flying to the oncoming Aries and   
Taureses. Then, while they were destracted by dodging those, she drew out her beam   
saber and sliced through them. She whipped around to discover the other five suits were   
nearly on top of her.   
"This will be a synch," she said. She shot her crown disks again, and smiled   
when they cut each suit in half. Hers were done, and there were only a few more left.   
She watched her friends take care of them with satisfaction, and that's when she received   
the message.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Cupid, Twister, Flame, Mercury, and Moonbeam gathered together as the   
remaining suits were destroyed.   
"Did you see that? That move was awesome Isis! You smoked 'em with your   
beams sabers and lasers!" Shiri exclaimed. Isis and the others laughed as they headed to   
their leader. Relena was floating in the air in Dammi. She hadn't moved for a few   
minutes now, Amara noted.   
"Hey Jeremiah, can you finish these?" everyone heard Heero ask.  
"No problem. I've got them." Jeremiah's Gundam, Lightening Wing, unsheathed   
its beam saber and sliced through the two suits that were aimlessly fighting. Then the   
orange and white Gundam met up with Heavyarms, Sandrock, Deathscythe Hell, Wing   
Zero, and Altron.   
"Hey Relena, are you okay?" everyone heard Amara ask.   
"No." Relena's face appeared, and she looked deathly pale. She was staring off   
into space, not focusing on the screen.  
"What is it?" Heero asked.   
"We didn't win completely."  
"What do you mean?" Alondra asked. Relena tapped her keyboard. Suddenly   
she was gone, and a message appeared in huge green letters: LOOK TO THE CLIFF.  
"Huh?" Duo spun around, and he cursed. Everyone else did too.  
"Oh no," Jade whispered. The two Gundam teams were so busy fighting that they   
didn't noticed all of the suits and soldiers lined along the cliff and into the woods.   
"Okay, I get the suits, but why the soldiers?" Isis asked.  
"They're there to look after the hostages," Relena explained.  
"Hostages? What-oh," Alondra said in understanding. "They found the shelter,   
and now they have the survivors."  
"Yes." Relena racked her brain for any good plans. "Huh, what we need is a   
miracle," she said to herself. Of course, she forgot that everyone's lines were open.  
"Relena, use the Zero system," Shiri said.  
"Absolutely not. I can't handle it, and I don't think we need an insane pilot right   
now," she said.   
"Besides, what about Heero? He has it too," Jade said, defending her.   
"That's true, but this one isn't his operation, it's Relena's," Duo shot back.  
"So, that doesn't mean you should lay it on her!" Isis yelled.  
"But it is her responsibility!" Wufei argued back. Before anyone knew what was   
happening, a war started between the pilots. Some were defending Relena, while others   
opposed her.  
"STOP IT EVERYONE!" they heard a voice yell. It was Heero. Everyone's jaw   
dropped in surprise.  
"H-Heero?"  
"Listen, it isn't for you to decide. If Relena wants to do it, fine. If not, then I can.   
I understand her view, and I know how terrifying the system can be," he reasoned.   
Before anyone could continue, they heard a whisper.  
"Relena?" Jade asked.  
"I'll do it. I'll use the Zero system under one condition."  
"What is it?"  
"If I can't take it and I start to lose it, anyone tries to stop me no matter what.   
Even if it means destroying me."  
"No Relena. We won't-"  
"Don't Quatre. Promise me this or I won't use it," she growled. Quatre   
whispered a 'Yes.'  
"We will Relena," Heero whispered. Satisfied with that, she placed her helmet on   
and sighed.  
"Good luck everyone."  
"Good luck, Lena," Duo said.  
Relena typed in Z-E-R-O and braced herself. The system interrupted her train of   
thoughts and images started flashing. The others waited patiently for her orders.  
"Dammi says there's at least a hundred suits left, fifty at the cliff, fifty spread into   
the woods. Heero, you, Jade, and Alondra take the back of the line in the woods. Duo,   
Trowa, and Amara head to the left, attacking all suits at the cliff and in the forest. Wufei,   
Isis, and Quatre head to the right, attacking all units positioned there. Jeremiah, Shiri,   
and I will take the front line, directing most of the fire there."  
"What about the soldiers?"  
"We have no choice. They must be taken out."  
"Roger that, Relena."  
"Go!" All went their separate ways, heading to their assigned spots.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Relena led Jeremiah and Shiri towards the suits and soldiers at the cliff. She flew   
as lightening through the first few coming to meet her.  
"I'll take the center few. You two cover the right and left."  
"Roger that Lena. See ya in a few." The three Gundams swept forward, basing   
their attacks. Dammi landed and swiftly brought out the beam saber, battling one-on-one   
with two suits. As she fought to destroy them, the men on the ground were firing at her   
with machine guns and missiles, anything that they could.   
"Surrender and we will no longer continue our assault!" she radioed to all who   
was around her. She heard the mocking laugh of an aged man, coming from a suit.  
"Do you think we'd give up so easily pilot! Ha, we will never surrender to the   
Dove of Peace!" Relena growled, and then, before she could act anymore, the system   
began to take over. She clenched the arms of her seat tightly, trying to fight it. Her body   
became paralyzed, and her mind raced with fear.  
"No! You will not control me! Ah!" she screamed, a deafening, screeching   
sound escaping her lips. She doubled over as images passed through her head. She saw   
herself and Heero at the beach. Then she saw herself standing in front of Heero as Duo   
threatened to kill him. Then she saw her kingdom collapse. She saw Heero blasting the   
falling piece of Libra as it entered the atmosphere. His words echoed in her head. Life is   
meaningless, especially mine! She saw her training sequence, the girls, fighting. She   
saw the fear in the eyes of her enemies as she destroyed them. Then she saw her future.   
She saw Heero die because she couldn't save him. Wouldn't save him. Then Dammi   
showed her how she would die.  
"NO! I will not give in!" Relena panted and huffed, feeling the sweat poring   
down her face. She gasped and slowly held her head high. She saw her enemy. In front   
of her was a figure of Treiz Krushrenada. Letting a battle cry escape, she slashed   
forward. As soon as the saber touched him, he shaped into Heero, who was staring at her   
sadly.  
"No! Heero!" She turned and sliced through more suits, and began blasting   
through the soldiers on the ground. "Who is my true enemy? I don't know anymore!"   
The system was taking over.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Heero, Jade, and Alondra finished off the suits, just in time to here Relena's pleas.   
Everyone heard them.  
"Who is my true enemy? I don't know anymore!" Relena's frantic voice came   
through, and Heero felt the panic rise within him. Without a word he headed to the front   
lines, or, more specifically, to Relena.  
"Heero wait!" Jade joined him, unsure of how to stop her without harming her.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
"Lena, stop!" Shiri pleaded. She and Jeremiah were in front of her line of fire,   
which was the shelter.  
"No, I can not. My enemy is the Sank Kingdom. If you don't move, I'll kill   
you!" She had her buster rifle up and ready to fire.  
"Relena stop! It's the system not you!" Heero's voice broke in.   
"Heero? You mean, I didn't destroy you?" Confusement was in her voice.  
"No Relena. Fight the system, I know you can."  
"But I'm so lost. I don't know anything any-Ah!" She doubled over in pain.   
"No! I will not destroy those I love, especially not him! Get away! Make them stop!"   
She clutched her head in pain. Stop this Dammi! I will no longer be your puppet! she   
screamed silently to her suit. They aren't my enemy, are they? No they aren't! Relena   
looked up, and her eyes became clear, no longer clouded with confusement. She lowered   
her buster rifle and sighed. The nightmare of the last few minutes passed through her   
as she sighed. She had won the fight with the Zero System.  
"Relena?" Heero's gentle voice broke in, and she smiled.  
"I'm fine now. I have mastered the system."   
  
  
  



	17. The Prophetic Realization

A Normal Life  
By: Jade Starlight  
  
Chapter Sixteen: The Prophetic Realization  
  
  
Quatre's voice came in. He sounded relived and happy.  
"Mission complete. We have destroyed all enemy units over here."  
"I second that. We're done too." Duo's voice came in. The Gundams landed on   
the cliff, looking at all the debris from the battle. There were no longer any suits, only   
scraps, and dead bodies littered the ground. Relena was the first to leave her Gundam   
and inspect the surrounding. Soon the others did, and all of them stood at the edge of the   
cliff, battered and bruised. Eleven teens looked down when they heard a familiar voice.  
"RELENA PEACECRAFT! YOU HAVE A LOT OF EXPLAINING TO DO   
YOUNG LADY!" Zechs' face appeared, Noin standing behind him. His face was bright   
red, and his body looked horrible. He had slashes, bruises, and cuts galore. He also had   
a black eye. Noin looked about as bad as him. Relena winced.  
"But I-"  
"I DO NOT WANT TO HERE IT!!! ALL OF YOU GET DOWN HERE   
NOW!!!" Everyone turned white, and one by one they climbed down. The boys were   
terrified because they knew he would probably kill all of them, especially Heero. Relena   
was worried, but she could handle her brother. The girls were scared because they had no   
idea what he was like. Relena reached the bottom first, and she smiled sweetly. This just   
made him angrier.  
"H-Hello Millardo. How are you?" she squeaked. He growled and glared. As   
the others came down, they cowered behind Relena.  
"What do you think you are doing?!"  
"Well, it's a long story Millardo. Care to hear it?" she meekly replied. Again he   
glared.  
"YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO BE A PACIFIST, AND HERE YOU ARE   
FIGHTING, AND IN A GUNDAM TOO!!" Relena grew angry, her fear dissipating.   
She returned his glare, causing him to step back a little.  
"OH, I"M SORRY!!! I DIDN'T REALIZE I WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A   
PACIFIST! I THOUGHT I HAD A CHOICE! HOW SILLY OF ME!" She smiled at   
him bitterly as his eyes widened. Noin stepped in between them to calm Relena down.  
"I don't think this is the place to argue you two!" she scolded. "Let's talk about   
this quietly." Her face was pleading with Relena to be sensible. Relena calmed a little   
and sighed.   
"You're right, Noin. I'll do it for you," Relena said. She was still glaring at her   
brother, who had recovered from shock. His eyes were glazed with anger. Noin   
motioned for everyone to get inside the cliff, and together they ascended the stairs of the   
secret passage and they were back up top. The guys and girls were all standing back, out   
of harms way, knowing that the fight was about to commence.  
"Now Millardo," Noin began. Before she could continue, however, he glared at   
her icily, causing her to shrink back. Now the only two who had control, somewhat, were   
Relena and Millardo.  
"Relena, what in God's name are you thinking?! If anyone ever discovered this   
the world would be ruined and-"  
"First of all, Millardo," she spat, "God has nothing to do with this! And second,   
no one will know, so your precious Earth will not go into chaos as you fear!"  
"That doesn't matter anyway, Relena! Do you have any idea of what you are   
labeling yourself by using, that, that WEAPON?! You're a killer now Relena! A   
murderer, not some glorious heroine as you hoped!"  
"And what do you know about my hopes, Millardo?! Do you think I am still a   
Pacifist deep down who will return?! That this is merely an experiment?! Relena the   
pacifist becomes Relena the greatest pilot ever! The pilot who destroys the evil men and   
saves the Earth! Well, let me tell you a thing or two about my job now, Millardo! I am-"  
"A great warrior Relena, who never cowers away and kills, kills, kills to no end!   
Yes Relena I understand now. You sought to become a great Gundam pilot so you could   
be closer to that devilish being, HEERO YUY!!!" Millardo's red face turned to glare at   
Heero, who had anger clearly written all over his face. Millardo smiled bitterly, and   
immediately he lunged for Heero, who stood his ground. The others who were close   
jumped away, watching and waiting for the death match to begin. Then, with the blink of   
an eye, Relena tackled Millardo from the side, and they rolled several feet over the dirt   
and rocks. When they stopped, Relena was sitting on top of him, and she had a small   
dagger to his throat. He glared, anger building up even more.  
"Relena! Stop it right now!" Noin yelled. Relena never tore her gaze away. She   
simply held up one hand to silence her.  
"Noin, don't," she growled. Noin, completely surprised, listened to her orders   
and became quiet. Everyone else was surprised as well, including Heero.  
"Relena!" Millardo started. The dagger pressed against his throat and he stopped.  
"You are going to listen to me, Millardo. Listen well because I will not repeat it   
later. Heero is a small part of why I became a pilot. And he is very dear to me, Millardo.   
If you hurt him, you hurt me, and then I never ever speak to you again. Understand?"  
"Relena-"  
"No, of course you don't. To you, Heero is just a killer, a danger to your   
precious, fragile, porcelain Queen of the World, is that it? Well, let me tell you what he   
is to me. He is a hero, and the most innocent person on this entire earth, in the universe.   
He didn't choose to be an assasin; he was pushed to be since he was very young, too   
young to understand. That is what makes him innocent. His actions during the Eve Wars   
were all from the heart. He did inspire me to become a pilot. But he isn't the only reason   
why."  
Everyone was staring at her in awe now, including Millardo and Heero. Heero   
had no idea she felt this way about him. He had no clue that this was her view on him.   
Everyone else saw him as a killer, but she saw him as an innocent boy. He was shocked.  
"I also became a pilot because I knew I could do it. Way before the Eve Wars,   
before I met you or even understood wars, I had the dream of becoming a number one   
pilot. Of course, Mr. Dorlain, my father at the time, wouldn't have it because he was a   
pacifist, and so, naturally, so was I. Fighting was out of the question. I did also want to   
escape my title of being the Queen of the World, the leader and heroine of the wars. I   
didn't do it myself; there were others, Heero being one, who did more than I could have   
dreamt of doing. I also thought that if I could save people by actually fighting, and not   
sitting and watching everyone save me, then I could understand more about the world.   
And now I do, Millardo. Now I fight to protect my beloved world, and space. I fight for   
a just cause as everyone standing here has done." She got up and turned to the group,   
tears falling silently. Millardo walked to her and embraced her fiercely as she balled into   
his shirt. He stroked her hair sympathetically.  
"Relena, I had no idea," he whispered.   
"Well, now I think you understand, and you'll let me continue," she said as she   
pulled away. She looked at everyone around them and smiled. The girls were tearing up   
and the boys were smiling warmly, even Wufei and Trowa. Heero just looked at her in   
awe. She laughed and glomped him, squeezing his neck tightly as they hugged. He   
hugged her just as hard and buried his head into her as she did the same. Now everyone   
was extremely amazed.  
"Uh, Heero buddy, is that you, or do you have a twin or something?" Duo joked.   
He received a quick glare. Relena began to laugh as he turned his attention back to her.   
He tucked a lose strand behind her ear and kept his hand on her cheek, softly caressing it.   
Their gazes were directed in the other's eyes, and soon they were lost. Heero, who had   
forgotten everyone around he and his princess, broke the silence.  
"Relena, I had no idea that you that of me that way. Why'd you say-"  
"Heero, you should've known by now that no matter what you or anyone says, I   
will never stop loving you. Everything I said is true. I know deep down that you wish to   
express things, but you continue to fumble around in the dark, searching for the right   
path."  
"Not a path, Relena, a light." He looked down at his feet, feeling a blush creep   
up on his cheeks. What is this? Am I finally expressing my love? "It is so hard to do," he   
whispered. He didn't realize he said it loud enough for Relena to hear.  
"I understand that, Heero, and I want to be your light. I have been trying to reach   
you, and this past year I think I did." She lifted his chin and smiled sweetly at him.   
"You once asked me to believe in you, and now I am asking you to do the same."  
"I do believe in you, Relena." He was so caught up in his emotions that he did the   
unthinkable; he kissed her passionately, and in front of everyone. Claps brought them   
back from their small world, and they were blushing. Relena looked at Millardo, but   
instead of seeing him blowing fumes, he was smiling and hugging Noin. However, the   
sound of explosions broke up the peaceful moment.  
"They're back," Jade said. Everyone looked up, and sure enough there were some   
more suits.  
"Relena Peacecraft, surrender yourself to us or say goodbye to your friends!" a   
voice ordered. Anger was apparent on her face. She began to walk to the cliff to   
surrender.   
"Relena, no!" Amara yelled. Heero grabbed her and held her tightly. She only   
looked deep into his eyes, tears poring from her own.  
"I have to Heero, or you all die. I cannot bare it if you all are killed because of   
me."  
"And I can't bare it losing you." He kissed her and darted to Wing Zero before   
she understood what was happening.  
"HEERO! STOP!" she cried to him. He ignored her pleas and flew up and into   
another battle, one that he knew he would lose.  
"Damn it! STAY HERE!" Relena climbed into Dammi and took off after him.   
The boys started to move, but the girls stopped them.  
"If you go, then she would never forgive herself for your deaths. Stay here and   
believe in them," Isis said. The boys looked at each other and reluctantly agreed. They   
knew what the girls were speaking was true. They watched helplessly as the Princess and   
her knight raced into a battle that would surely end in death.  
"Please live through this," Quatre whispered.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
It was bad. Heero had lost his saber and double beam gun while fighting. All he   
had was his shield. He brought it out, blocking a slash from one of the enemy suits. He   
failed to see the other one that sliced through the back. Another hit Zero's arms and legs,   
causing him to lose the shield. One more blow and he was done. He shut down the   
system and let himself freefall into the sea, away from civilians. He knew it was over   
now.  
"Goodbye Relena," he whispered, before darkness engulfed him.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
"NO!!!" Relena was too late. She missed her chance to save her beloved, and   
now he was resting at the bottom of the sea, gone. Relena typed in a frantic message and   
dove in after him. Without warning, four enemy mobile suits grabbed Dammi and   
brought it to the surface, before she could reach Heero. Relena put up no fight, for she   
knew this was the end.  
At least I can save my friends and my brother. I am so sorry Heero, but please   
know I will always love you, no matter what happens. She waited in her cockpit for   
instructions from the leader of ICS.  
  



	18. Shocking Revelation *REVISED*

A Normal Life  
By: Jade Starlight  
  
  
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hi again! I'm sorry these are getting shorter, but I'm   
beginning to get writer's block. Because this one and the last one were so short, I've   
decided to combine them. So, please read the revised version, or you'll be lost.   
Also, I want input from you guys, the readers. Should Heero and Relena make it   
out, or should I have the Gundam guys and girls come and rescue them? Please,   
PLEASE review! So far, only one person has, and I need input from ALL OF YOU!   
Thanks again Qiana, for reviewing! But please everyone else who may be reading, I   
NEED TO HEAR FROM YOU TOO!!! I can't stress that enough! Anyway, on with   
the next chapter...  
  
  
  
Chapter Seventeen: Shocking Revelation  
  
  
  
While Heero slowly gained conscious, he began to take in his surroundings. His   
eyes were struggling to open.  
Well, at least I'm not dead. He squinted in pain as his head began to throb   
severely. Deciding to keep his eyes closed, he used his Perfect Soldier training to help   
him. He could feel his hands chained to a wall, and his feet bound to the floor as well.   
He guessed the floor was concrete and the wall was brick and stone. He didn't see any   
light through his lids, so he assumed that either there was no window or lights, or they   
were very dim. That or it was nighttime. He faintly smelled blood, but he wasn't sure if   
it was his.  
"Damn it! My head." Someone next to him was groaning in pain. He recognized   
the voice.  
"R-Relena?" he stammered in surprise. He heard the sound of moving chains.  
"Heero, you're here?" she whispered, also surprised. There were more sounds of   
movement, and then a desperate whimper.  
"It's no use, Relena. They're too strong," he told her.   
"Heero, I can hardly see you. This pain, it's too much!" Her voice was panic-  
stricken, and he could tell that she was scared.  
"Come on, Lena, don't start losing control yet. Remember your training," he   
encouraged. There was more clinking, and then a stomp.  
"Heero, I can't do it! I'm too weak," she whispered. He dared to open his eyes,   
noting that the pain was sinking away. He saw her form outlined by the moon, which   
shined through a small window located about five feet above their heads. In the   
moonlight she looked like an angel, battered and bruised or no. Her face held the   
expression of an innocent, helpless teenaged girl. It was that innocence that was always   
present and always broke his barricade down, for her. She was staring at him in distress   
as his thoughts brought him back.  
"You can Relena, but you must focus on this, as if it were a mission." He   
watched as she closed her eyes and sighed. While he was watching, he noticed that she   
wasn't chained to the wall like him, but to the floor. She had more lenience than he did.   
He noticed that she was staring at him, and her eyes traveled back and forth, from his   
chains to hers.  
"What are you thinking, Heero?"  
"By looks of it, they think that you can't do too much, so your restraints aren't   
very strong. My legs and arms are chained, but only your arms are, not to mention that   
the chains enable you to walk around, at least five feet in every direction." She smiled as   
she realized what he was saying was true. She began to walk to him, and they found that   
she could probably hug him if she really wanted.  
"Well, this means they think I'm still the helpless Relena I was during the war,   
and they have no idea about this last year!" she exclaimed. Heero glared, and she   
realized that she had said that rather loudly. They froze as they waited to hear any   
movement, but all they heard was snoring, loudly.  
"Relena, check your pockets, and then mine. See if you can find anything that   
can help us," Heero ordered. Relena did what he said, pulling things out of her jacket   
pockets. Then she moved to her pants, and then to Heero's jacket. When she went to dig   
in his pockets, she stopped herself, blushing.  
"Relena, what's wrong?" he asked her. When she wouldn't look at him, he   
realized she was probably blushing.  
"Relena, it's fine, really," he assured her. He watched her hand lift hesitantly, but   
then she finished her task, quickly. When she looked at everything on the floor, she   
sighed.  
"What do we have?"  
"Two paper clips, gum, three pennies, lint, a bobby pin, and my cell phone   
number on paper." She got up and began to pace. Heero was deep in thought as well as   
she. What seemed like an eternity later, Relena stopped, her face brightening.  
"I can use the bobby pin to get these chains off of me, and then I can work on   
yours!" Her lips formed a huge smile as Heero's shaped a smirk.  
"Thank the gods you're gifted with quick thinking. How long will it take?"  
"Well, no more than five minutes, but I doubt I'll need that long even." She   
scooped up the bobby pin and began to work.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
"Sir, we have both of them in our custody. Shall we leave them in the cell room   
for now, or move them elsewhere?" The red haired man stared back at his commanding   
officer through the video link and smiled.  
"No, that's quite alright, Thomas. Leave the two children in the cell until further   
orders." He terminated the connection and turned his chair back to his desk. His gloved   
hand reached for a framed picture of a woman with brown-red hair and a small boy with   
red hair.  
"Soon, my son, soon." He smiled as his gaze lingered on the picture.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Millardo Peacecraft continued to pace back and forth while his wife watched with   
concern for her husband's state of mind.  
"Millardo, please stop pacing and sit! You'll only make matters worse if you   
continue your ruthless movements!" Lucrezia hissed. The platinum blonde pilot stopped   
and turned to her, icy blue eyes fixing on her blue orbs. Anger was extremely apparent in   
his eyes, and for a moment it looked as if Zechs Marquise was back. Noin sunk back a   
little as he finally tore his gaze from her and began to pace.  
"Lucrezia, do you honestly expect me to sit down and be calm knowing that my   
sister was taken by the enemy, and for all we know she is now dead!!!" he yelled.   
"Of course not, Millardo, but at least try to calm yourself, for me," she pleaded.   
He stopped again, but this time he obeyed her and took the empty place next to her on the   
couch. They were waiting in the "guest" room at Dr. Hino's secret base.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Relena tore off her wrist cuffs and set them silently on the floor. Without   
hesitation she moved to Heero's ankles and began with those.  
"Nice job Relena, that was under two minutes at most," Heero said. She smiled   
up at him and then hastily continued.  
"I told you it wouldn't take long. I'm an expert at picking locks." She was done   
with the left and moved to the right.  
"Out of curiosity, how'd you learn to do that so well?" Relena giggled.  
"Well, I used to sneak out of my room a lot when I lived with the Dorlains. I   
went onto the roof of the school when I was younger and gazed at the stars for hours on   
end. Sometimes I'd stay there until sunrise."  
"Hmm." Heero shook his head. He never imagined that goody goody Relena   
would do something like that. Then again, he also never imagined that she would   
become a Gundam pilot, or that she would match his strength in battle.  
"So, what's next Heero? How are we going to escape?"  
"Well, I was thinking that we could do one of two things: take our clothes and tie   
them together, making a rope. Then we can take the paper clips and poke then in the   
cloth, slinging it up and around the bars on the window and escape that way. Or we can   
pick the lock on the door, take out the guards in the hall, dress as soldiers, and make a run   
for it."  
"I like option two better," she answered him. He was now free of his chains. He   
nodded and they went to work.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   
Jeremiah, Isis, Duo, and everyone else was in the sick bay of the base, waiting for   
the three of them to finish being treated for their injuries. Noin and Millardo had already   
been taken care of, and they were now waiting for further plans.  
"So, did we get a lead on who the head of ICS is?" Shiri asked Dr. Hino. He   
sighed heavily, glancing at everyone's hopeful looks.  
"Yes, we did." He turned around and began pacing back and forth.   
"And?" Duo chimed in, growing impatient.  
"This leader was very hard to discover. As you all know, we had tried every way   
possible to figure out his identity, but we always came up with nothing, or a false lead."  
"Dr. Hino, I don't mean to disrespect you sir, but please, get to the chase!" Jade   
said.   
"Well, I'm trying to tell you that we have reason to believe that he didn't want us   
to know until he was ready to tell us."  
"Okay, I have to agree with Jade now, who is it?" Trowa asked. Dr. Hino sighed   
in defeat and turned to Jeremiah. Everyone kept their eyes on him, waiting for him to   
start speaking again. Finally, he pulled out a photo and handed it to the young red head,   
which gave him a quizzical look, taking the photo.   
"The leader and the brains behind all of ICS's operations is Darrel Kinsley,   
Jeremiah's father." Collective gasps were heard throughout the room. Jeremiah could   
feel tears come to his eyes.  
"I'm sorry, Jeremiah, but sadly it's true. Your father is our enemy, and right now   
he has Relena and Heero."  
"They're alive?!" Isis asked. Dr. Hino nodded as he continued.  
"However, we don't know how long that'll be."  
"What does he want with them?" Quatre asked.  
"There's something you don't know about me and Relena. We have a little bit of   
a history together," Jeremiah said.  
"What do you mean?" Trowa asked. Everyone's eyes were fixed on him as they   
waited for his tale.  
"Well, when I was little, someone was sent to assassinate my family. You can all   
guess..."  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Relena couldn't believe how stupid their guards were. When they broke out of   
the cell door, the guards were still asleep, so it wasn't hard to knock them unconscious   
and take they're weapons. The only downside was that the clothes were a little big on   
Relena.  
"Come on Relena, we have to hurry. The next exchange is in half an hour, so we   
have to work fast if we want to escape." Heero turned and grabbed her hand, leading her   
out of the information center in the base. After they exchanged clothes with the guards   
and threw them in the cell, the two headed for this place to find out when the next cargo   
plane left.   
"Heero, will we make it?" Her eyes looked hopeful as she walked beside him in   
the hall. A couple more minutes and they'd be at the hanger they needed. Two officers   
passed them and nodded. Relena nodded back, thankful her hair stayed tucked up in her   
hat.  
"Yes, now stop worrying and focus on your mission. This isn't like you."  
"I can't help it. I mean, this is the first time I've been in this type of situation   
since the war."  
"And now you're a skilled pilot who can handle anything. Don't worry, we'll   
make it."  
"Okay Heero, I'll stop now."  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Millardo and Noin jumped when they heard the door open. The group of teens   
waltzed in, frowns on their faces. Millardo stood up and glared.  
"Care to tell us what's going on?" he asked. Dr. Hino came in and approached   
him.  
"I assume you already know me, so let's get right to it. Your sister and Heero   
were captured by ICS a few hours ago. We know who the leader is, and we think we   
know what he wants."  
"Well?" Noin said. Millardo sat down and ran his fingers through his platinum   
blonde hair. Noin laid a comforting hand on his shoulder and smiled.  
"Well, the leader is Darrel Kinsley, Jeremiah's father. We think he's using Heero   
and Relena as a trap for the others to try and rescue them. He probably also thinks that   
you might try, and we know one of his objectives is to get rid of the remaining Peacecraft   
bloodline. Also, he naturally wants his son back, and this is a way to lure him."  
"But what will he do with them if no one goes to retrieve them?" Millardo asked.   
He was afraid of the answer.  
"He will definitely kill Relena for personal reasons, but Heero we aren't sure. My   
guess would be they will both die."  
"So what's the plan then?" Noin asked. Dr. Hino smiled sadly.  
"We're going to wait for a day and see if Heero and Relena make back alone. If   
they do, then we will proceed to the next step, which is destroying the ICS's base."  
"And if they don't?"  
"We go in after them," Amara answered.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Darrel Kinsley arrived at cell 121 and frowned.  
"Where are my guards, Walker?" he growled. The young officer approached him   
shakily.  
"I don't know sir. They were here fifteen minutes ago when I came down."   
Suddenly, there was banging in the cell and muffled yells. Kinsley unlocked the door   
and barged through, only to grow angrier.  
"Where are they?!" he yelled. Walker undid a gag and let the guard talk.  
"Sir, they broke out! They jumped us and knocked us unconscious!"  
"I can see that you numbskull! Walker?"  
"Yes sir?"  
"Dispose of these idiots at once." The young officer's eyes grew wide.  
"Yes sir!"  
"Johnson, sound the alarm! Put every officer who isn't on duty on the lookout for   
these two! They can't escape!"   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Heero and Relena crawled into the back of the plane, behind a bunch of huge   
crates and boxes. They settled in closely, making sure they were hidden well. Relena   
laid her head on Heero's shoulder as he wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her   
closer.  
"Well, Heero, let's hope we can make it before-" she was cut off by the sound of   
an alarm. Her head bolted up, face paling. Heero's eyes grew wide as they listened to   
the shouts and running of officers.  
"Oh shit!" he whispered. Relena and he looked at each other and then to the back   
of the plane. The door wasn't closed yet!  
"Heero..."  
"Shh!" There were some officers at the back of the plane, talking. One of them   
looked inside...  
  
  
  
  
  



	19. The Sacrifices Made

A Normal Life  
By: Jade Starlight  
  
Chapter Eighteen: The Sacrifices Made  
  
  
A.N: All right, first I want to apologize for making everyone wait so long for this. I   
am very, very sorry, but there was an unexpected death in the family last week, and   
I got a *gasp* job, so, needless to say, I've had no time to work on this. Also, thanks   
a lot to everyone who has reviewed! They are Qiana, Silver Wing, Shazzia, and   
Anon! I really, truly appreciate it! Your reviews are what keep me going! And   
please, continue to let me know what you think, I'd really like that a lot. Anyway,   
I'm sorry again for how long this is taking and how short the chapters have been. I   
think this one will be better.  
  
And Shazzia, read my summary and let me know if it's any better, PLEASE!!! If it   
isn't, would you maybe wanna help me a little and write one for me to put up? I'd   
love the help! I'm not very good at those things. And thanks for the suggestion!  
  
Now, on with the chapter...  
  
  
  
"What is this you're carrying?" the officer asked the pilot of the plane.   
"Just supplies, sir, mostly food, some clothes too."  
"Have you had this opened for a while?"  
"The door? No, sir, we just opened it not even two minutes ago."  
"And you've been back here the entire time?"  
"Yes, sir, I have." The pilot stared at the officer as if he were crazy. The officer   
simply looked inside again, nodded his head to the pilot, and walked away. The pilot   
turned and shut the door, readying the plane for take off.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Relena let out a sigh, taking off her cap as soon as the door was shut and locked.   
Her honey colored hair fell down, lying across her back in a messy manor. Heero smiled   
and gave her a reassuring squeeze on her arm as she leaned her head on his shoulder.  
"Now all we have to do is wait," Relena said. Heero nodded and leaned against a   
crate. He closed his eyes and relaxed.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Millardo sat up in bed, sweat poring down his face. His eyes darted around the   
room, and for a moment he forgot where he was. When he realized that he was staying at   
the base, he tried to calm himself from the nightmare he had again. His breath slowed,   
and he ceased his shaky hands. He flung his covers off and got up, heading to the door.  
"Millardo?" he heard Noin say groggily. He paused before he shut the door and   
told her to sleep. When he was sure she was, he proceeded to the dining area, where he   
could think things through.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Quatre couldn't sleep very much at all. The dreams he was having seemed so real   
that he didn't know what to do.  
"Definitely no more sleeping," he whispered to himself. He got up and headed   
for the kitchen to make some tea.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Millardo sat at the table and drank his coffee. He laid his head in his hands and   
huffed as he thought about his dream.  
"Hello," he heard someone say. He looked at the door to discover one of kindest   
people he knew staring right at him.  
"Why aren't you sleeping Quatre?"   
"I can't sleep either. I keep having horrible dreams and the only way to make   
things better is to stay awake. What about you?" He grabbed a pot out and filled it with   
water, setting it on the stove to boil.  
"You too, huh? And I thought I was the only one."  
"What do you mean?" Quatre put the tea bags in the water and stirred it.  
"I keep having the same nightmare over and over again. I can't make it go away."   
Millardo rubbed his temple and sighed. "It's always the same."  
"Why don't you tell me your dream, and maybe I can help you figure out what it   
means?" He poured the tea into a cup and sat across from the Lightening Count. He took   
a sip and waited for him to start.  
"Well," he started, "it starts with me and Relena hugging each other. She cries   
and tells me she loves me, and then she starts to back away. Then you and the others   
appear, and she cries even harder. She says something about it being her fault and she's   
sorry, and she loves us all, but she has to leave now. By then she's running away from   
us, and I try to go after her, but I can't. Then I see her stop. Heero is in her way, and he   
won't move. Tears are streaming down her face in a river now, and she hugs him and   
then kisses him passionately. Then, before he can do anything, she darts past him, out of   
sight. I hear a gun shot, a scream, and then I usually wake up." A tear slid down his   
cheek when he finished.  
"That's exactly what happens, you're sure?" Millardo looked at Quatre and   
sighed.  
"Yes, I'm sure. Why?"  
"Because I had that same dream."  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Heero and Relena woke up as soon as they heard him.  
"Stay still and low Relena, and he won't see us," Heero said. They slowly laid   
onto their stomachs, hiding behind the stacks of crates.  
"Hey Lonny, what did you want again?" a voice yelled.  
"Some apples if ya don't mind!"  
"Yeah yeah, I'll get them!" They heard the footsteps get closer and closer.   
Relena closed her eyes and sucked in a breath. He was right in front of the crates they   
were hiding behind.  
"I'll get your damn-hey!" he knelt down right near Relena.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Heero saw how close he was, and he began to form a plan. If he discovered   
Relena, he'd attack from behind and take care of him, then move on to the pilot. He   
watched as the guy bent down and grabbed a twenty-dollar bill off of the floor. Then he   
turned around, grabbed the apples, and left. Heero looked to Relena, who was still   
holding her breath.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Relena felt a hand on hers and opened her eyes to see Persian blue staring back at   
her. The two sat up and smiled.  
"That was a close one," Relena said. Heero nodded as they scooted closer again.  
"We can relax, but no more sleeping. Keep your guard up," Heero told her. They   
leaned back and closed their eyes, and that's when they heard the click.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Noin walked into the kitchen around four in the mourning, yawning. She was too   
worried to get more sleep, so she figured she'd get a head start on the day. When she saw   
Millardo and Quatre talking, she was surprised.  
"How long have you been up?"  
"About three hours now. Neither of us could sleep." Noin yawned and grabbed a   
cup, poring herself some coffee. She sat next to her husband and took a drink.  
"I know your reason, Millardo, but why can't you Quatre?"  
"For the same reason, actually. Right down to every detail." Noin almost spit out   
her coffee as she stared at them in shock and horror.  
"You both have been getting the same exact dream?" They nodded their heads   
and frowned.  
"We've been talking about what it means all night now, and we haven't really   
come up with much." Millardo stared at his hands.  
"Whatever it means though, it's bad. We think Relena may be killed already, or   
will be dead soon," Quatre explained. Noin felt fresh tears come to her eyes as she stared   
at no particular place.   
"Come on now, you aren't giving up on her already, are you?" The three of them   
looked to the doorway and found Jade standing there, a smile on her face.  
"No, we aren't exactly."  
"That's not what it sounds like." The Spanish girl sat next to Quatre, sill smiling.   
"Remember who she's with, please. And don't forget that she's a trained soldier."  
"Do you really think Heero could save her?" Millardo asked. Jade looked at him   
and shook her head disappointingly.  
"Of course he can. He loves her, and there's nothing he wouldn't do to help her   
and keep her alive, even if it meant his death."  
"She's right, Millardo. As much as you don't like that, it's all true. I've known it   
since the first time I met him, even before I saw them together at the Sank Kingdom   
Institute for the first time. Every since he's met her, Heero has loved Relena with all of   
his heart," Quatre chimed in. Millardo looked angry, but he sighed and nodded.  
"I know. If anyone can bring her back, it's him. And she is different now, and I   
know she can take care of herself."  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
"Get up now!" the young man ordered. Relena and Heero put their hands up and   
cautiously made their way to their feet. A gun was staring them in the face.  
"Hey Dan, what is it?" the pilot, Lonny, yelled.  
"We've got a couple of stowaways, Lon. Radio the boss and let him know we   
have what he was looking for. Then turn around and head back."  
"Roger that Dan." The officer who held the gun ushered the two teens over   
towards the door. Relena and Heero glared as he told them to sit. Then Dan sat on a   
crate a couple of feet away, the gun still pointed at the couple.   
"Now, I don't know what the boss wants with you two, but I'm sure he's got good   
reason. And I know that you're a Gundam pilot, so there's got to be something you did   
to him." The young man pointed to Heero, who gave him an icy glare. However, the   
man was too busy looking at Relena to notice.   
"You're a hell of a looker, young lady. Aren't you the Vice Foreign Minister?"  
"Was," she corrected. The way he was looking at her sent chills up her spine.   
She moved unconsciously back a little, and then an idea came to her.  
"You're a pretty little thing. How come you're with this low life?" Again he   
pointed to Heero, who was building with anger. Relena touched his hand gently and then   
stood up.  
"Me, with him? Where on earth and in space did you ever conjure up such an   
idea? Why would I be with a boy, when I can be with a man." She lowered her voice   
seductively and started moving towards the young fool, who was practically drooling.   
She placed a hand on his still raised gun and gently lowered it, smiling playfully. Dan   
smirked and wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her next to him. He leaned her   
back across the crate and turned to her face, completely forgetting Heero. He was about   
to kiss her when something hit his head. The last thing he saw was Relena's smile.  
"Let's go." Heero grabbed her wrist and pulled her roughly to the back. She   
wrenched free and scolded him.  
"Why are you being so touchy, Heero? I had to do that, or we would've never   
gotten free!" Heero grabbed a parachute pack and shoved it in her hands. She threw it to   
the floor and crossed her arms.  
"Stop acting childish Relena, and put the damn thing on!"  
"Not until you stop your childish behavior!" They stood there for what seemed   
like forever, glaring and not moving. Finally Heero broke the silence.  
"Look, I'm sorry, okay? I just didn't like the look in his eyes, and all that he said.   
Happy?"  
"Yes," she smiled triumphantly and put the parachute on. Heero huffed angrily   
and turned to grab another one, but there weren't any more. He turned to her and   
frowned.  
"Well, get yours silly. We have to leave before that guy wakes up!" When he   
didn't move, she began to panic.  
"There isn't one for me. You have the only one." He turned and pounded his fist   
against the side of the plane. "Damn it!"  
"Here," Relena threw hers at him and smiled. "It's my fault we got into this, so   
you take it. I can hold on to you when we jump."  
"No, you're going to wear it and-"  
"Heero, don't! Just put the stupid thing on and let's go! We don't have much   
time!" Reluctantly, Heero did as she said and headed for the back. Relena wrapped her   
arms around his neck and nodded when he looked at her. He pushed the button and the   
plane began to open. He grabbed onto her waist prepared to jump.  
"Stop right there, or I'll kill you both now." The two turned to see Dan standing   
there, gun ready. He nodded to Relena. "Get over here now, Miss Queen, or your   
boyfriend gets it."  
"Sorry Heero," she whispered. He looked into her eyes, and saw tears. He   
wouldn't let go of her.  
"Let her go, pilot, or she will die in your arms." When Heero still didn't let go,   
Relena turned to him and smiled.  
"I will always love you, and I will never leave your side." She kissed him   
passionately and then shoved him out of the plane, watching him descend to the ground.   
The look in his eyes was anger and pure, unmistakable love as he plummeted away.  
"That was very brave, Miss Relena, and also very stupid." Dan hit her on the   
head with the handle of the gun, and the last thing she saw was Heero pull the string.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Relena, no!!! he thought as he saw her shrinking form. He pulled the string and   
felt the wind capture the parachute.  
"I'll make it back so her sacrifice wasn't in vain, and then I'll kill them all for   
what they've done!" he promised aloud. He watched the ground come up under his feet   
as he landed in a wheat field. Without hesitation he ran for the nearest town in hopes of   
contacting his friends.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Duo rubbed his eyes as he slowly made his way to the ringing vid phone on his   
desk. He pushed a button and Heero's face appeared. Duo's violet eyes grew large as he   
stared.  
"Duo, tell everyone to prepare for battle, and have someone come and pick me   
up."  
"Boy Heero, you sure don't waste time, do ya? Where are you?"  
"Just outside of the west border of Sank." Duo wrote it down and smiled.  
"Is that all?"  
"Yes. Hurry up and move Duo, we can't waste time!" The pilot of 01's face   
disappeared, ending the link. Duo threw on a robe and ran into the kitchen, waving   
around his paper. Wufei looked at him and shook his head.  
"What is it Maxwell? Are you going to wave it around all day, or tell us?"  
"Heero just called. He wants someone to pick him up, and the rest of us need to   
prepare for battle."  
"I'll get him. Where is he?" Trowa asked. Duo gave him the paper and Trowa   
ran to the hanger.  
"Is my sister with him?" Millardo asked. Duo shrugged in reply.  
"He didn't say so, but I'm assuming yes. I mean, it's not like he'd leave without   
her." Millardo simply nodded. Everyone else stopped what they were doing and became   
lost in thought. It was Duo who brought them back.  
"Hey, why are we standing around here? We have to go, go, go!!!" he clapped   
his hands together with those last words, ushering everyone to move.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Relena woke up just in time to see the base again as the plane landed. She noticed   
that her hands were cuffed together in the front. When the plane landed, Dan opened the   
back and came in. He grabbed her up and roughly pushed her out and into the base.   
Then, two guards whom she had never seen before joined them as they began to walk   
across the hanger and up some stairs.  
"Where am I being taken, back to the cells?" Relena asked. She surveyed all of   
the surroundings, remembering everything for another escape.  
"No, my dear Princess. You get to meet the man who created the ICS." They   
climbed up another flight and then headed down a long corridor. Relena looked in the   
rooms as she passed and saw weapons of all types. In other rooms there were soldiers   
training on machines, no doubt learning to pilot mobile suits. Then she saw soldiers   
boxing and fighting one another on mats.  
"Ah, here we go." The small group stopped, and Dan knocked on the door.   
Someone opened it and they piled in, Dan forcing Relena to sit in a chair in front of a   
desk. There was a huge black leather chair in front of her that was facing the wall.  
"Hello Relena," a voice said, "it's nice to see you again." The chair spun around,   
revealing an aging man with short red hair containing hints of gray. Relena's eyes grew   
wide and her face paled as she recognized him.  
"Mr. Kinsley?" she whispered in disbelief. He smiled wickedly at her, enjoying   
her terrified face.  
"Yes my dear, misguided girl, it's me. I'm glad you remembered my name. But   
then again, how could you forget someone whom you tried to kill?" He folded his black-  
gloved hands and rested them on his desk.  
"I'm so sorry. I didn't want to," she said. He glared at her, letting his smile   
dissipate.   
"Oh yes you did, Relena, you did. You can't play miss innocent with me. I can   
see right through your peace loving mask!" He stood and waved a hand, indicating to   
everyone else to leave. When the soldiers were gone, he stood right in front of her.  
"I mean it! I was young and manipulated! I had no choice! I was a tool, a-a   
weapon!" Tears began to fall as images flashed through her head of her childhood. They   
were all coming back.  
"Shut up! You can cry all you want, Relena, but I know your true nature! Your   
pitiful little tears won't convince me either!" He slapped her across the face, leaving a   
red print. She turned her head and looked down, her honey blonde tresses falling around   
her face, hiding it. Darrel Kinsley smiled with satisfaction when she didn't make another   
sound.  
"Now, what was I going to do? Ah yes, I need to set a trap for your little   
comrades and my son. And you're the bait," he turned to her and smiled. She just   
looked at him, and his smile turned into a frown. She wasn't covered with fear as before,   
and as he peered into her eyes he couldn't read any emotion she might of had. Instead,   
her eyes were a dull blue color and empty. Her lips were formed in a line, and she was   
simply staring at him.  
"Try all you like, Mr. Kinsley, but my friends, including your son, aren't that   
stupid. They're expecting this and they won't fall for it," she replied in a monotone   
voice. Even that didn't show any emotion.  
"We'll see about that, Miss Dorlain, and if that proves true, I'll just go onto faze   
two."  
"And what is faze two?"  
"Your death, my darling Princess, your death." Again he smiled and then he   
opened his office door. Four soldiers came in, dressed in their black suits, and ushered   
Relena out the door, taking to her "room."  
  



	20. The Final Victor Part 1

A Normal Life  
By: Jade Starlight  
  
Chapter Nineteen: The Final Victor  
  
A.N: I am so sorry my devoted readers! I am trying really hard to work on this as   
much as possible and keep it interesting, really I am! This chapter was originally   
going to be the second to last chapter and also the showdown between ICS and the   
G-boys and girls, but now I'm planning on two more chapters. I figured that I   
could at least be nice and give you all something to read. Besides, I think this   
would've been too long anyway. So, here it is, and I hope you still like it! Don't   
forget to review please!!! On with the story...  
  
  
  
  
Nine of the twelve Gundam pilots were seated in what has become their meeting   
place in the base, along with Millardo Peacecraft and Lucrezia Noin. They were going   
over the steps in the, hopefully, goof proof plan.  
"So, we are expecting them to have a trap for us, right?" Alondra asked. She was   
sitting on a chair, her arms folded casually as she leaned back.  
"Yes, no doubt about that. Keep your guard up, and don't head in to anything that   
seems suspicious to you, got it?" Everyone nodded in reply to Quatre's statement. The   
blonde boy nodded solemnly in return and continued pacing.  
"All right everyone, here's how we'll be set up. Heero is going to lead a battle to   
break through the front line, using the ZERO system. Accompanying him will be Wufei,   
Isis, and Alondra. Then Shiri, Amara, Duo, and I will come out of our hiding and take   
over what's left and backup as they proceed forward. Jeremiah, Trowa, Jade, and Relena   
will then fly through the path we've made and proceed to take out the base itself. Is   
everyone clear?"   
"That won't work Quatre," a voice interrupted. Everyone looked to the entrance   
to see Trowa and Heero standing there.  
"Where's my sister, Yuy?" Millardo demanded. Heero looked at him, sadness   
present in his eyes. He walked up to the former Epyon pilot and lowered his head.  
"Zechs, I'm sorry. Relena didn't make it out," he told him.  
"W-what do you mean?" Jade asked. Fresh tears came to her eyes as she looked   
at the brown haired boy, eagerly waiting for his answer.  
"Yeah Heero, what is it? She's not dead, right?" Wufei asked. Heero shook his   
head and turned to everyone.  
"No, she isn't dead, yet. We were caught on the plane we had escaped on. There   
was only on parachute, so she made me wear it, and she was going to hold on while we   
jumped. Just before we did, one of the officers threatened to shoot us, more specifically   
her, if I didn't let her go. Then, before I knew what was going on, she pushed me out of   
the plane. I couldn't do anything to help her." He looked at the floor again, closing his   
eyes. Everyone was surprised because even though he's been doing it, they still weren't   
used to seeing him express his emotions. A tear slid down his cheek, but only Millardo   
and Noin noticed because they were right next to him.  
"Do you think she's dead?" Jeremiah asked. "My father sounds like his main   
mission was to kill her."  
"No, she's not. He'll be using her for bait to lure you, and us."  
"So what do we do?" Duo asked.  
"Trowa will take my spot and attack the front lines. Then Jeremiah, Jade, and I   
will find Relena and rescue her. In the process we will set up little explosives all over the   
base, and when everyone is gone, I'll push the detonation switch."  
"Sounds good, Yuy," Wufei said.  
"We're leaving in thirty minutes, no less, no more, got it?" Everyone nodded to   
Heero and got up. "Go and make any last minute preparations." They all piled out,   
Heero, Millardo, and Noin last. Millardo put a hand on Heero's shoulder, stopping him.  
"Yuy, I know you didn't want, nor would you have left Relena. I know how my   
sister is, and I know that she made the decision to save you, because she loves you,"   
Millardo said. Heero nodded and waited for the two to leave, before he devised the   
rescue team's plan.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Relena laid on the small cot in her "room." She was dragged into the woods and   
locked into a small cell with no windows or light, save for one small, dimming flashlight.   
In a few hours the batteries would run out, so she left it off and tried to get some sleep.   
Of course she couldn't because she was worried for her friends.  
'They better do the smart thing and destroy the base. I don't care about my life,   
but I do care about theirs,' she thought. She smiled because she knew that they would try   
to rescue her, and she also knew that Heero would be coming for her as well. Again she   
closed her eyes, and invited sleep to come. This time, she didn't open her eyes in   
frustration. She began to dream of many things...  
  
  
'Relena was running down a corridor. She turned and ran into a room, and felt   
disappointment when she didn't find who she was looking for. Then the scene switched to   
a hanger, and again she was running. She saw Jade and Jeremiah ahead of her, running   
to the door. She turned around and saw Heero running a ways behind, trying to catch   
up. There was the sound of an explosion, and then the ground shook, causing her to fall.   
When all was quiet, she looked up and saw Heero about two yards away, also climbing to   
his feet. He smiled at her and began to run again. Then there was a crumbling sound   
from above. Relena looked up to see a beam from the ceiling collapse and fall right for   
Heero. Within seconds he had disappeared under the rubble...'  
  
  
"NOOO!!!!" Relena sat up and felt the sweat and tears poring down her face. She   
was shaking violently as she thought over the dream. A dreadful sunken feeling came to   
her stomach, and somehow she knew something terrible was going to happen.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
An officer approached the Commander, saluting him.  
"At ease," he said said.   
"Sir, would you like me to begin Operation Catch?"  
"Yes. Bring in the soldiers and make sure they are well hidden around this little   
shack. I have no doubts in my mind that Mr. Kinsley's son and Relena's little boyfriend   
will come to get her. When they do, do not hesitate to capture all of them." The soldier   
saluted and turned to leave, but The Commander stopped him.  
"Robinson, if you cannot take Relena and that pilot, or whomever else may be   
with them, you have Kinsley's order to kill them. Do not hurt his son though, because if   
you do, he said he will see to it personally that you pay with your life." The Commander   
watched the soldier, making sure that he knew Kinsley was serious about his threat. The   
officer saluted and left, fear apparent in his face.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+  
At about three in the mourning Sank time, Wing Zero and the other Gundams   
arrived just inside the border. Heero opened his com link to everyone.  
"Listen right now. Proceed with caution and keep your eyes peeled for anything   
out of place. Carry out your parts in this mission, and do not, I repeat, do not fail." His   
voice was steady and commanding.   
"All right Heero, agreed," Trowa answered. But Heero wasn't done yet.  
"Don't take off so soon. I have one more request."  
"What is it?" Quatre asked. Heero sighed before answering.  
"You must promise me that no matter what happens to me, you get Relena and   
yourselves out of here as soon as she's back with you. Don't wait for me, or worry about   
me at all, got it?" This time his voice was harsh and commanding, scaring everyone.  
"Heero, you know that Re-"  
"Yes I do, but her life and all of yours is very dear to me. Grant me this request,   
please!"  
"Okay Heero, you've got it," Duo told him, this time uninterrupted.   
"Good, move out!"  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Relena tossed and turned in her bed, unable to fall asleep again. Instead, she got   
up and sat on the cold floor of her prison, crossing her legs. She sat up straight and   
closed her eyes, practicing a meditation technique she always did when she was   
extremely stressed out. And right now, she was well beyond that point.   
Relaxing her form, she breathed in and out slowly, focusing on each breath to   
clear her mind. A few minutes later she was in her "happy place," or the place she   
envisioned in her mind. Whenever she was doing this, she would imagine she was on a   
beach, under the beautiful full moon. She would stand at the water's edge in her dream-  
like state and feel the cool water lap up against her feet. A small breeze would blow, and   
she would breath in the salty sea air. Then she would sit at the edge of water and look   
out at the beautiful calm waves as they slowly rolled in.   
"Hello Relena," a voice said. She jumped onto her feet and turned to see Heero   
standing there. He was dressed in blue jeans, his green tank top, and his jean jacket.  
"Heero? Why are you here? I never see anyone when I'm here." She looked   
very puzzled. True, she felt very close to Heero, and to her he was her strength and also   
getaway from the world, but never once did she ever imagine anyone else here, including   
him. He stepped forward and caressed her cheek, smiling.  
"Relena, listen to me. The others and I are on our way to get you out. I need to   
know where you are on base so I can get you. Can you tell me where?" Relena nodded.  
"I'm in this little shack in the woods, on the west side I think. It's about 50 yards   
in, but Heero, it's a trap! You can't come and get me!" She was begging him as he   
shook his head.  
"I will come, don't worry. And this trap they have? It won't work. See you   
soon." Relena wanted to cry out. She stepped forward and then he was gone, and she   
was staring at the wall in the dark room. A tear slid down her cheek as she remembered   
her vision.  
'Heero, I know that was just a dream, but you were so real! Don't come for me, or   
you and everyone else will die!' She continued to beg and pray silently, tears falling more   
and more with each plea.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Heero saw the base on radar and landed his Gundam in the forest surrounding it.   
Jade and Jeremiah followed. The three teens gathered on the ground. Jade had a black   
bag, stuffed with goodies.  
"Heero, are you sure you know where she is?" Jade asked. He nodded and began   
to walk to the west.  
"Don't worry, Jade, Mr. Perfect Soldier knows exactly where she is, I'm sure,"   
Jeremiah said. He and Jade were walking side by side, following Heero into the darkness   
of the night.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
"Randall reporting, sir!"  
"Excellent. Take your two friends there and go on this path. Look for any sign of   
intruders." The young officer and his two men saluted and left, taking the path they were   
commanded to use.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
"Hey Randall, do you really think we'll find a Gundam pilot out here?" one of   
them asked. The one called Randall shrugged as he pushed some branches out of his   
way.  
"The boss said that they were coming, so I would say yeah."   
"But aren't they just kids?"  
"Yeah, sixteen I think. Don't underestimate them just because they look puny.   
I've heard all about them, and judging from the stories, these kids are anything but   
weak." Randall barged through some tall bushes and stopped in his tracks.  
"Hi there," a girl said. She smiled and waved. Randall pulled out his gun and   
held it to her face.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Jade saw the gun and put her hands up playfully in surrender. She flashed him   
another smile as he approached her slowly.  
"Who are you?"  
"Who, me?" she asked innocently. He was about three feet away and clearly   
checking her out.  
"Yeah you. What are you doing?"  
"Oh, I'm lost. My friends and me were camping, and it was my turn to get some   
firewood. I started to gather it, but I guess I wandered too far because I don't know   
where they are." 'Please buy this!' She thought desperately. The man raised and eyebrow   
and continued to hold the gun right in her face.  
"Nice try, girly, but I know for a fact that this territory is private property, and no   
one ever camps here. Now, raise your hands in the air and turn around slowly."  
"Hey Randall, what are we gonna do with her?"  
"We'll take her to Mr. Kinsley. I'm sure he knows who she is." As he   
approached Jade, he heard a couple of thumps and spun around. Heero and Jeremiah   
were standing there, guns pointed at Randall. He forgot all about Jade when he saw these   
two and his officers slumped on the ground.  
"Hey, what the-" he fell to the ground on his stomach as everything went black.  
"Nice one Jade," Jeremiah commented. He and Heero tucked their guns in their   
belts and immediately went to work. They took the officer's clothes and put them on. In   
the meantime, Jade tied each of the three's hands and feet together and taped their mouths   
shut. Then she pulled some cuffs from the belt and handed them to Jeremiah, who took   
them and smiled.  
"Why Jade, I never knew you were such a naughty girl!" he said sarcastically,   
smiling like a Cheshire cat. She glared and turned around, letting him slap the cuffs on   
her.  
"Why Jeremiah, I never knew how sick you could be!" she replied sarcastically.   
Before anyone else could speak, Heero grabbed Jade's arm and pulled her along. Her   
brown hair swayed freely back and forth with each step.  
"Heero, take it easy, will ya?"  
"Sorry," he loosened his grip on her arm as Jeremiah grabbed the other. They   
made their way back to the tent.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
"What's this?" the commander asked. He saw two young soldiers approaching,   
and a handcuffed girl was with them.  
"Sir, we found her wandering around on our way here. We believe she was   
supposed to get Relena Peacecraft out."  
"Really? Bring her to Miss Peacecraft's cell until further orders. Understood?"  
"Yes sir!" The two saluted him and walked passed the group of soldiers and into   
the woods.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Relena was standing against the wall, completely bored and worried out of her   
mind. The sound of a door opening caused her to jump and move to the barred wall. She   
saw three figures, one smaller than the other two. Gripping the bar, she squinted and   
looked closer, but it was so dark she couldn't see much. All she could make out were the   
tall figures leaving the smaller one. Then she heard a loud thump, and a shuffling noise.   
As it got louder, she backed away from the bars slowly, waiting for someone to shoot her.  
"Relena?" a voice whispered. She knew who it was.  
"Jade? I'm here," she whispered back excitedly. She felt a hand on hers and let it   
guide her out. Then, a flashlight was shining on them. Relena looked and saw Jeremiah   
smiling. He was dressed in an ICS uniform.  
"Relena, you two have to put him in here. Make it look like he's sleeping, okay?"  
"Sure. Let's move him against the wall." They took the jail guard and laid him   
on the bed, covering him up. Then Jade opened a black bag and pulled out a blonde wig.   
Relena started giggling.  
"Oh you two are horrible!" she whispered. Jeremiah gave her one of his silly   
grins, a lot like Duo's, and winked.  
"Well, we have to have a decoy so we can get out. Besides, it wasn't our idea, it   
was Heero's."  
"Where's Heero at?" she asked suddenly.   
"Right here." The brown haired pilot walked through the door. Relena ran to him   
and practically attacked him. He stumbled back once and caught his balance, letting her   
hug him.  
"I'm so glad you're okay! You have no idea how worried I've been!"   
"Well, worry no more Relena. Now let's go." Whatever happiness they all had   
disappeared as they left. Their faces were stoic and determined.   
"Heero, I need to do something," Jeremiah said.  
"What?"  
"I must see my father. You can all go, but I have to see him. Please," he added   
silently. Heero gazed at him and nodded.  
"No Jeremiah, I'm not letting you go alone!" Jade whispered angrily. He sighed   
and looked into her light brown eyes. He knew she would come no matter what he said.  
"Fine, let's go."  
"Wait a second now," Relena said. "We aren't leaving with out you two. We're   
going with."  
"Relena-"  
"No Heero, we're going. Besides, I need to have a little discussion with our dear   
Mr. Kinsley. I need to convince him to stop this madness!" Heero glared at her,   
obviously not happy with her decision. But, like Jeremiah, he knew she wasn't going to   
listen to him, so he nodded again.  
"Fine. I have something I have to do anyway." He pushed ahead of the small   
group and led the way.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Heavyarms whipped out its new laser gun and went to work, shooting any enemy   
suits in its path. There were five that were attacking him at one time, but Trowa didn't   
even break a sweat.  
"I'll say this is pathetic," Alondra commented.   
She busted up her thrusters and flew between three suits, spinning in a full circle and   
shooting each one with her Vulcan cannons.  
"Yeah I know," Trowa said, "but something's not right."  
"What do you mean, Barton?" Wufei asked. He demolished a suit using his triton   
and moved to another, easily slicing it in two.  
"I mean that their defense isn't very good."  
"And?"  
"And, although there's a lot of suits, they really aren't fighting back too much."  
"And that means-"  
"That means these are mobile dolls and the manned suits are in hiding," Isis   
finished.  
"Exactly. Isis, send a message to everyone and let him or her know what we   
discovered. If they can get it in enough time, we'll all have the upper hand."  
"Roger that Trowa."  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Quatre shot at approaching suits, immediately destroying them.  
"Quatre, come in," Amara's voice said.  
"What's wrong?"  
"I just got mail from Isis. She says that we're fighting dolls and the manned suits   
are somewhere else."  
"What?" The blonde Arabian was completely baffled by this news.  
"That's what she said. What should we do?"  
"Tell Duo and Shiri to group up with us and we'll see if there's a place to hide.   
We can sit and wait until the real fighting begins."  
"So their objective with this was to tire us out so they could win?"  
"Yeah, but we won't let that happen."  



	21. The Final Victor Part 2

A Normal Life  
By: Jade Starlight  
  
Chapter Twenty: The Final Victor Part 2  
  
Heero slid silently into the shadows of the stairway, careful not to startle the patrolling soldier. He watched as  
the young man went his rounds and headed back up. When Heero heard the door click shut, he waved a hand. Relena,   
Jade, and Jeremiah approached equally cautious.  
"Up?" Relena whispered. Heero looked at them and nodded. With that, the four teens quietly began their   
ascent to the third floor, where Kinsley would be waiting.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Trowa sat in his Gundam, breathing slowly as he waited for the signal from Wufei.  
"Trowa?" It was Quatre's voice who broke the deafening silence.  
"Yes Quatre?"  
"Are you sure about this new plan? Heero doesn't even know, and we haven't seen a hair of either Relena,   
Jade, Jeremiah, or him. What if they don't get out in time?" The blonde boy's voice sounded entirely sincere, and he was.   
These were his friends' lives they were putting into jeopardy, and he didn't like that thought.  
"Quatre, I promise all will be fine. You needn't worry about those four. I gurantee they'll be out before we   
do anything."  
"Okay Trowa, I'll take your word for it, even if I don't like it." Please be alright, he added silently to his   
friends, even though he knew they wouldn't be able to hear.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
"Please be alright." Relena turned to Jade, who was walking beside her.  
"Did you say something?" she whispered. Jade shook her head, giving Relena a funny look. Relena, however,  
didn't see this because she was now completely baffled.  
Maybe Jeremiah said something then, she pondered.  
"Hey, Jeremiah?"  
"Yeah Lena?"  
"Did you say something to me just now?"  
"No, why?"  
"Quiet, we have company!" Heero scolded before the conversation could continue. The other three followed  
his lead as he dove into an open closet. He shut the door behind him and listened to the conversation on the other side.  
"Kinsley is pissed! Those idiots at the shack let Miss Peacecraft and her friends escape."  
"I know," the other man replied. "Is it true that one of them is a Gundam pilot?"  
"You mean from the original group? Yeah. I think it's Heero Yuy, the Wing Zero pilot."  
"Damn, sucks to be the soldier who crosses his path. Did you hear about all of the things he did during the  
Eve Wars?"  
"Hell yeah, everyone knows about that boy. I'll tell ya, I'm sure as heck not gonna be here tonight for too   
much longer, not with him around!"  
Heero smiled to himself when he heard this exchange. It's good to know people fear me, he thought. A   
couple of minutes later, the two men were gone, and the four teens were heading farther down the hall. The room they   
need was only ten doors away.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Wufei reflected the sun off of his trident. In about two minutes the enemy's backup would be here, and   
everyone needed to be ready.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Trowa saw the faint glint and immediately sent a message to Quatre. Any minute now the final battle would  
begin.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Duo took in a huge breath to calm his nerves. He had to get everything right because his friends' lives were at stake.   
Again he took a breath, still attempting to focus completely on this mission.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Jeremiah stopped a few feet away from the door that would lead him to his father. Jade saw this and   
approached him, smiling.  
"It's fine Jeremiah. We'll all be okay. You just have to be brave and face him for what he is." She laced her   
fingers with his and pulled him along.  
"Jade is right. I know he's your father, but what he's doing is wrong. If you talk to him, maybe you can make  
him understand, and he'll stop this little war before any others get killed or injured," Relena encouraged him. He nodded  
and stepped foward. Heero moved aside and fell back with Relena, who grabbed his hand for comfort. Jeremiah grabbed the handle and twisted it. He pushed it open and frowned.  
"Shit!"  
"What is it?" Relena asked. The other three peered inside and immediately backed away. Sitting on the desk  
in the room was a large bomb with a note attached. It read BOOM in large black letters. The clock read fifteen minutes,  
and counting...  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
"Wolf 1 here, any sign of the rebels?"  
"No Wolf 1, Wolf 3, do you see them?"  
"Negative Wolf 2, no sign of the enemy. What do you make of it?"  
"My best bet would be-" The line lost clarity and all the ICS soldiers heard was static coming through the  
com link.  
"Wolf 2, what's going on?! What's wrong over there?!" The soldier tried desperately to get an answer, but   
again more static. The one known as Wolf 3 began making his way towards the are his friend was in. Unfortunately for   
him, he didn't get very far. A green flash was all he saw before his suit exploded.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
"Nice one Wu-man!"  
"Maxwell, don't call me that, and move out! We have a mission to complete!" the Chinese teen scolded as he  
dove behind some trees. Duo huffed and quickly left, heading to his other target.   
"Sometimes I think that guy is rediculous," he grumbled quietly.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Relena ran as fast as she could, the first one to enter the stairwell they had just come out of. She heard the   
close footsteps of her friends behind her as she ran down the stairs, taking them two at a time. Just as she turned onto   
another set, someone dropped in front of her.  
"God Jeremiah, think you cold warn me next time!" she scolded, still running.  
"Sorry babe," he yelled over his shoulder. "Next time I'll just scream on the way down!" Relena smiled in   
spite of herself as she follwed him down again. They both burst through the door, only to stop in their tracks. Eight  
soldiers were stationed at the bottom, which happened to be the door they just burst through.  
"Oh shit," Relena whispered.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Trowa began to fire upon the approaching mobile suits as they flew overhead. Three went down very quickly,  
leaving seven more puzzled.  
"Alondra, go!"  
"Roger that, boss!" she whipped out her vulcan cannons and got to work. She finished all of them in three   
minutes.  
"Okay Quatre, you're up!"  
"Right." Sandrock quickly made its way forward, carful to dodge the trees.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
"Get them!" All of the soldiers immediately took off after Relena and Jeremiah as they darted back up the   
stairs.  
"What is it?" Heero asked as he and Jade changed direction.  
"We uh, met up with some really unhappy people," Jeremiah answered. Jade glanced back and sprinted   
forward.  
"I'll say! What's ya do?"  
"What makes you think we did something? We just came bursting throught the door and bam, there they   
are!!!" Relena yelled. The four of them burst into the hall they were in before and ran down past the room with the bomb.  
"Halt or I'll shoot!" They ignored the warning and continued running, turning left into another hall.   
"Guys, in here!" Relena darted into a dark room. The others followed, vanishing into shadows.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Quatre flew forward, slicing through any suits and making his way to the front of the line. There, he would   
wait for his backup to arrive.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
"Quick, this way!" The soldiers entered a room and turned on the lights. Then they began searching the entire   
room.   
"Sir, you better check this out!" one of them yelled. The leader jogged over to a large screen and immediately   
turned around.  
"Leuitenant, evacuate the base at once! Move out!" Everyone cleared out and the thought of capturing the  
intruders completely left everyone's mind. Now all they had to worry about was the bomb.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Deathscythe Hell darted around the suits and fought through the crowd, heading to the base. Duo used his   
beam scythe to slice through whatever got in his path.  
"They don't call me shinigami for nothing!" he shouted with glee as he continued fighting through the suits.   
"Duo, quit playing and help me! I can't clear the way for Heero and the others alone!" Quatre's distressed   
voice commanded.  
"Sheesh, Q-man, hold on a sec! I gotta get there first!"  
"Well, HURRY!!!"  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
"You go on ahead, while I take care of these guys!"  
"No Heero, we won't leave you!" Heero grabbed Relena's arms and pulled her close, so that their noses   
were touching.  
"Relena, I promise you I will catch up. Now go!" He thrusted her back as he darted the other way, towards   
the pursuing soldiers. Relena watched helplessly as he disappeared into the small group. Then, before she realized what  
was going on, Jade and Jeremiah were pulling her along, forcing her to turn away from her lover. They turned into a   
doorway which led to a hanger. No one stopped them because the soldiers were too busy evacuating to care. Halfway   
through Relena stopped, her dream coming back to her, with a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach.  
"Relena, lets go!" Jade scolded. Relena turned around before she or Jeremiah knew what was going on and   
headed back to the hallway. She was halfway there when she saw Heero stumble into the hanger, bruised and trying not   
to limp.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Quatre tried to stop it, but it was too late. He watched helplessly as the mobiled doll above him shot right at  
the base, hitting a hanger. An explosion was heard as all of the suits and soldiers tried to flee for cover. The building   
started to crumble.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   
Relena felt the ground shake as she heard an explosion from above. Supporting Heero, they fell together   
from the tremor. Realization hit as she saw the image from her dream. Quickly she grabbed Heero's hand and pulled   
him up.  
"Run Heero! The beam, it's going to fall!"  
"But Relena, look, it's-"  
"SHUT UP AND GO!" She pulled him along as they ran top speed to the other side, where Jade and  
Jeremiah were waiting. Just as they reached their friends, the beam fell, just as she said. Heero looked at her,   
understanding in his eyes.   
"Um, can we leave now? I mean, I don't know about you guys, but I certainly don't wanna be around when   
this place falls!" Jade said. Without an answer the four of them ran from the collapsing base and through the trees,   
heading for the small clearing where Wufei would be waiting.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Altron was standing in the clearing, looking fo the four teens. Suddenly four traces appeared on the tracking   
screen, beeping and flashing red. Wufei smiled in spite of his usual nature.   
I knew you could do it my friends. And I'm glad you're safe. He lowered Nataku's hand for them to climb   
into. he watched as they did so, and waited for a thumbs up from Jeremiah before taking off and heading back home,   
back to California. 


	22. Epilogue

A Normal Life  
By: Jade Starlight  
  
Epilogue  
  
"Ladies and Gentlemen, in honor of the recovery of my sister, Relena Dorlain-Peacecraft, I have invited you   
all to my home in the newly built Sank Kingdom. Tonight is a happy occasion for both the Earth and the Colonies. Not   
only has the Independent Citizens of Space been completely vanquished, but we are welcoming a long since missed   
member back into our arms." Millardo Peacecraft looked around the ballroom, holding everyone's gaze. "Alright,   
enough talking for now. Let's celebrate!" He raised his wine glass in the air and smiled. The hundreds of guests did the   
same. Then he drank it and once again smiled before leaving the stage. The orchestra began to play a waltz, inviting   
everyone to dance and be merry.  
"Lucrezia dear, where is my little sister hiding herself?"   
"Over there Millardo. She's been trying to escape the torment of the ESUN members all night and has yet to  
do it." Lucrezia Noin-Peacecraft swept her purple locks back with a black gloved hand, smiling at her husband. He   
kissed her cheek and turned in the direction Relena was in.  
"I think I'd better go and rescue her before she suffocates. Excuse me."  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
"So, Miss Relena, where have you been these past few years?"  
"Yes, have you settled yet? Do you have a boyfriend you have been hiding?"  
"Do tell us Miss Relena. You are, after all, seventeen." The herd of faces stared in expectancy as they waited  
for an answer.   
Someone save me! she thought desperately.  
"Excuse me Ladies and Gentlemen, but if you don't mind, I'd like to dance with my sister." Relena smiled as   
her older brother grabbed her hand and pulled onto the floor. They began the waltz, Relena smiling thankfylly at her   
brother.  
"Thank God you saved me. I'm not sure I can answer any more questions tonight!" Millardo's ice blue eyes   
danced with amusement as he led her around the floor. He was dressed in the usual Sank Kingdom attire, and she wore   
a simple black dress that reached the floor. Her hair was in one braid, reaching her waist.  
"So Relena, have you decided what you will do yet? Now that the ICS is gone, I don't see any reason for  
you to stay with Dr. Hino."  
"Millardo, you know that I love being a Gundam pilot. Not to mention there is still a lot I need to learn about  
my past. If I choose to leave again, you cannot talk me out of it." Her blue eyes held wisdom and seriousness as she   
gazed up at him. He smiled knowingly.  
"I suppose there is no way at all then? Not even a bribe, like, oh say, whatever you want for the rest of your   
life?"  
"Millardo!" Relena laughed at his bad bribing techniques. "If I stay at all, it will be to teach you how to   
negotiate! how in the world did they ever let you take my place?"  
"Hey now, I think I do pretty good for an ex-soldier, thank you very much!" They both giggled at that.  
"Excuse me," a voice said. Relena smiled as she turned around.  
"She's all yours Heero, for free!" Millardo winked and walked away. Heero bowed as Relena did so, and   
then they were in eachother's arms, swaying to the music.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
"Jade, check it out! Aren't they so adorable together?" Alondra whispered. jade smiled as she watched   
Heero and Relena dance. She saw how oblivious they were to everyone else as they moved in time with the music.  
"Yeah, they sure are. Say, does anyone know where Dr. Hino is? He's late, and that's not like him at all."  
"Nope, but I'm sure it's all good. He probebly couldn't find his tux or whatever," Jeremiah answered. He sat  
next to Jade and smiled.  
"Hello all. Where is Relena?" Dr. Hino asked as he approached his pilots.  
"Finally, you're here! What happened?"  
"Oh, you know, working late in the office again. Relena's where?"  
"Over there boss, dancing with Heero. Why?" Shiri asked, but he didn't answer. He just made his way to the  
couple, obviously nervous.  
"Wonder what's eating him," Duo said as they watched the three of them make their way outside.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
"So, Dr. Hino, what is it you need to say?" Relena asked as she stood near a bench in the garden.  
"Both of you sit, please."  
"Look, there is something you both know and have not told me and I wanna know, now. No games, got it?" They both nodded and Relena smiled. "Good, continue."  
"Well, I think you should come back with the others and train Relena. You need to for what I am about to   
say."  
"Alright. I'll be the judge of that thank you." Again she waited for him to continue.  
"To be put simply Relena, you have a gift. Several actually. Heero and I ran across this in a DNA test of   
yours from two years ago."  
"And these gifts would be?" she stared expectantly.  
Always to the point Relena, Heero thought.  
"Well, I hate when everyone beats around the bush, you know that Heero." Dr, Hino stared at her in   
astonishment.  
"Excuse me Relena? Did Heero say something?" Dr. Hino asked. She looked at him like he was crazy.  
"Of course he did. You're not that old, Dr. Hino! Heero said 'Always to the point Relena' because I hate  
when everyone-Why are you looking at me like that?" Relena noticed Dr. Hino's eyes practically popping out of his head. Heero smiled at this.  
"You see, I knew she was stronger than you had predicted," Heero commented.  
"Well, I suppose I'd better listen to you from now on Heero. I mean, after all, you know more about this than   
I do."  
"Excuse me!!!" Relena had had enough of this code talk. "Would you two like to fill me in here?" Again   
Heero just smiled and kissed her forehead. Dr. Hino almost laughed.  
"Forgive me child, it's just that you've amazed me that's all. Relena, you have psychic powers. You can read  
minds, quite well, might I add, and have prophetic dreams and all that junk." Relena's eyes went huge as it all registered.  
"Relena, are you alright?" Heero asked. She looked into his eyes and saw love in them.  
"Yeah I am. Wow, I have powers huh? That explains a lot actually."  
"Well, you're taking this quite better than I imagined."  
"I told you she would," Heero stated.  
"What did you mean by Heero knowing more than you?"  
"I've got those powers too, Lena. I've had them since before I can remember." Relena's lips formed a   
mocking smile.  
"Well, again, that explains a lot. So, now that I know this, I guess I have no choice but to go back with you  
guys and continue my training."  
"Looks like it Relena. Are you okay?" Heero asked Relena smiled.  
"Yeah actually, I think its cool. I mean who knew I'd have such an interesting life, right?" Heero and Dr.   
Hino smiled as they all walked back to the ballroom.  
"One question though," she said.  
"Shoot Relena."  
"How do we tell the others?"   
"Oh, I have a feeling they already know." Heero smiled as they walked back to the party. In the morning   
Relena would announce to everyone her decision, and her knew secret as well.  
  
  
  
AN: YEAH!!! I AM DONE!!! I know the end seems a little rushed and open, but that's how it's gonna stay. I'm  
deciding if I should write a sequel or not, but I don't know yet. It all depends on how much time I have when school goes   
back. I don't own the orignal characters or GW, but I do own Jade, Isis, Shiri, Alondra, Amara, and Dr. Hino, so please   
don't use them unless you have my consent. I want to thank everyone who read this, if I still have people reading. It's  
you guys and gals that kept me going! So thank you very much and please let me know what you think! Ja for now!  
  
Oh yeah, I started a new story called The Gundam Files. It's going to explain the childhood of each Gundam girl, minus  
Relena, so check it out! 


	23. The Final Victor Part 2

A Normal Life  
By: Jade Starlight  
  
Chapter Twenty: The Final Victor Part 2  
  
Heero slid silently into the shadows of the stairway, careful not to startle the patrolling soldier. He watched as  
the young man went his rounds and headed back up. When Heero heard the door click shut, he waved a hand. Relena,   
Jade, and Jeremiah approached equally cautious.  
"Up?" Relena whispered. Heero looked at them and nodded. With that, the four teens quietly began their   
ascent to the third floor, where Kinsley would be waiting.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Trowa sat in his Gundam, breathing slowly as he waited for the signal from Wufei.  
"Trowa?" It was Quatre's voice who broke the deafening silence.  
"Yes Quatre?"  
"Are you sure about this new plan? Heero doesn't even know, and we haven't seen a hair of either Relena,   
Jade, Jeremiah, or him. What if they don't get out in time?" The blonde boy's voice sounded entirely sincere, and he was.   
These were his friends' lives they were putting into jeopardy, and he didn't like that thought.  
"Quatre, I promise all will be fine. You needn't worry about those four. I gurantee they'll be out before we   
do anything."  
"Okay Trowa, I'll take your word for it, even if I don't like it." Please be alright, he added silently to his   
friends, even though he knew they wouldn't be able to hear.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
"Please be alright." Relena turned to Jade, who was walking beside her.  
"Did you say something?" she whispered. Jade shook her head, giving Relena a funny look. Relena, however,  
didn't see this because she was now completely baffled.  
Maybe Jeremiah said something then, she pondered.  
"Hey, Jeremiah?"  
"Yeah Lena?"  
"Did you say something to me just now?"  
"No, why?"  
"Quiet, we have company!" Heero scolded before the conversation could continue. The other three followed  
his lead as he dove into an open closet. He shut the door behind him and listened to the conversation on the other side.  
"Kinsley is pissed! Those idiots at the shack let Miss Peacecraft and her friends escape."  
"I know," the other man replied. "Is it true that one of them is a Gundam pilot?"  
"You mean from the original group? Yeah. I think it's Heero Yuy, the Wing Zero pilot."  
"Damn, sucks to be the soldier who crosses his path. Did you hear about all of the things he did during the  
Eve Wars?"  
"Hell yeah, everyone knows about that boy. I'll tell ya, I'm sure as heck not gonna be here tonight for too   
much longer, not with him around!"  
Heero smiled to himself when he heard this exchange. It's good to know people fear me, he thought. A   
couple of minutes later, the two men were gone, and the four teens were heading farther down the hall. The room they   
need was only ten doors away.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Wufei reflected the sun off of his trident. In about two minutes the enemy's backup would be here, and   
everyone needed to be ready.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Trowa saw the faint glint and immediately sent a message to Quatre. Any minute now the final battle would  
begin.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Duo took in a huge breath to calm his nerves. He had to get everything right because his friends' lives were at stake.   
Again he took a breath, still attempting to focus completely on this mission.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Jeremiah stopped a few feet away from the door that would lead him to his father. Jade saw this and   
approached him, smiling.  
"It's fine Jeremiah. We'll all be okay. You just have to be brave and face him for what he is." She laced her   
fingers with his and pulled him along.  
"Jade is right. I know he's your father, but what he's doing is wrong. If you talk to him, maybe you can make  
him understand, and he'll stop this little war before any others get killed or injured," Relena encouraged him. He nodded  
and stepped foward. Heero moved aside and fell back with Relena, who grabbed his hand for comfort. Jeremiah grabbed the handle and twisted it. He pushed it open and frowned.  
"Shit!"  
"What is it?" Relena asked. The other three peered inside and immediately backed away. Sitting on the desk  
in the room was a large bomb with a note attached. It read BOOM in large black letters. The clock read fifteen minutes,  
and counting...  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
"Wolf 1 here, any sign of the rebels?"  
"No Wolf 1, Wolf 3, do you see them?"  
"Negative Wolf 2, no sign of the enemy. What do you make of it?"  
"My best bet would be-" The line lost clarity and all the ICS soldiers heard was static coming through the  
com link.  
"Wolf 2, what's going on?! What's wrong over there?!" The soldier tried desperately to get an answer, but   
again more static. The one known as Wolf 3 began making his way towards the are his friend was in. Unfortunately for   
him, he didn't get very far. A green flash was all he saw before his suit exploded.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
"Nice one Wu-man!"  
"Maxwell, don't call me that, and move out! We have a mission to complete!" the Chinese teen scolded as he  
dove behind some trees. Duo huffed and quickly left, heading to his other target.   
"Sometimes I think that guy is rediculous," he grumbled quietly.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Relena ran as fast as she could, the first one to enter the stairwell they had just come out of. She heard the   
close footsteps of her friends behind her as she ran down the stairs, taking them two at a time. Just as she turned onto   
another set, someone dropped in front of her.  
"God Jeremiah, think you cold warn me next time!" she scolded, still running.  
"Sorry babe," he yelled over his shoulder. "Next time I'll just scream on the way down!" Relena smiled in   
spite of herself as she follwed him down again. They both burst through the door, only to stop in their tracks. Eight  
soldiers were stationed at the bottom, which happened to be the door they just burst through.  
"Oh shit," Relena whispered.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Trowa began to fire upon the approaching mobile suits as they flew overhead. Three went down very quickly,  
leaving seven more puzzled.  
"Alondra, go!"  
"Roger that, boss!" she whipped out her vulcan cannons and got to work. She finished all of them in three   
minutes.  
"Okay Quatre, you're up!"  
"Right." Sandrock quickly made its way forward, carful to dodge the trees.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
"Get them!" All of the soldiers immediately took off after Relena and Jeremiah as they darted back up the   
stairs.  
"What is it?" Heero asked as he and Jade changed direction.  
"We uh, met up with some really unhappy people," Jeremiah answered. Jade glanced back and sprinted   
forward.  
"I'll say! What's ya do?"  
"What makes you think we did something? We just came bursting throught the door and bam, there they   
are!!!" Relena yelled. The four of them burst into the hall they were in before and ran down past the room with the bomb.  
"Halt or I'll shoot!" They ignored the warning and continued running, turning left into another hall.   
"Guys, in here!" Relena darted into a dark room. The others followed, vanishing into shadows.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Quatre flew forward, slicing through any suits and making his way to the front of the line. There, he would   
wait for his backup to arrive.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
"Quick, this way!" The soldiers entered a room and turned on the lights. Then they began searching the entire   
room.   
"Sir, you better check this out!" one of them yelled. The leader jogged over to a large screen and immediately   
turned around.  
"Leuitenant, evacuate the base at once! Move out!" Everyone cleared out and the thought of capturing the  
intruders completely left everyone's mind. Now all they had to worry about was the bomb.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Deathscythe Hell darted around the suits and fought through the crowd, heading to the base. Duo used his   
beam scythe to slice through whatever got in his path.  
"They don't call me shinigami for nothing!" he shouted with glee as he continued fighting through the suits.   
"Duo, quit playing and help me! I can't clear the way for Heero and the others alone!" Quatre's distressed   
voice commanded.  
"Sheesh, Q-man, hold on a sec! I gotta get there first!"  
"Well, HURRY!!!"  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
"You go on ahead, while I take care of these guys!"  
"No Heero, we won't leave you!" Heero grabbed Relena's arms and pulled her close, so that their noses   
were touching.  
"Relena, I promise you I will catch up. Now go!" He thrusted her back as he darted the other way, towards   
the pursuing soldiers. Relena watched helplessly as he disappeared into the small group. Then, before she realized what  
was going on, Jade and Jeremiah were pulling her along, forcing her to turn away from her lover. They turned into a   
doorway which led to a hanger. No one stopped them because the soldiers were too busy evacuating to care. Halfway   
through Relena stopped, her dream coming back to her, with a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach.  
"Relena, lets go!" Jade scolded. Relena turned around before she or Jeremiah knew what was going on and   
headed back to the hallway. She was halfway there when she saw Heero stumble into the hanger, bruised and trying not   
to limp.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Quatre tried to stop it, but it was too late. He watched helplessly as the mobiled doll above him shot right at  
the base, hitting a hanger. An explosion was heard as all of the suits and soldiers tried to flee for cover. The building   
started to crumble.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   
Relena felt the ground shake as she heard an explosion from above. Supporting Heero, they fell together   
from the tremor. Realization hit as she saw the image from her dream. Quickly she grabbed Heero's hand and pulled   
him up.  
"Run Heero! The beam, it's going to fall!"  
"But Relena, look, it's-"  
"SHUT UP AND GO!" She pulled him along as they ran top speed to the other side, where Jade and  
Jeremiah were waiting. Just as they reached their friends, the beam fell, just as she said. Heero looked at her,   
understanding in his eyes.   
"Um, can we leave now? I mean, I don't know about you guys, but I certainly don't wanna be around when   
this place falls!" Jade said. Without an answer the four of them ran from the collapsing base and through the trees,   
heading for the small clearing where Wufei would be waiting.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Altron was standing in the clearing, looking fo the four teens. Suddenly four traces appeared on the tracking   
screen, beeping and flashing red. Wufei smiled in spite of his usual nature.   
I knew you could do it my friends. And I'm glad you're safe. He lowered Nataku's hand for them to climb   
into. he watched as they did so, and waited for a thumbs up from Jeremiah before taking off and heading back home,   
back to California. 


End file.
